H IIDanual of Ifntormation 
Concernittd 

tCbe Episcopal Cburcb 



, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. | 

®|apM^I|u^ri5]^t ^ 

Shelf .•-6'.i£'._. 

I UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, j 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 
CONCERNING 

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH 



BY 




THE REV. GEORGE W. SHINN, D. D. 

NEWTON, MASS. 



0- 



NEW-YORK 
THOMAS WHITTAKER 

2 & } BIBLE HOUSE 



( OCT X 1892 




Copyright, 1892, 
By Thomas Whittaker. 



PEEFACE. 



Information concerning the Episcopal Church may be 
welcomed by several classes of persons. 1st. By those 
ichose interest lias Jjeen awakened hy occasional attendance 
at its services. They have been impressed by the beauty 
and solemnity of those services, and have found them- 
selves instructed and benefited. They would now be- 
come better acquainted with a Church which offers so 
much help to their religious lives. 

2d. By former opponents of this Cliurcli. Many have 
grown up under the influence of inherited prejudices, 
but begin now to see that the judgment of their fore- 
fathers was beclouded, and that the Church once so 
bitterly condemned has links of connection v/ith the 
historic past, and comes to them laden with very rich 
blessings. Their forefathers lost much in departing 
from it, but the children are coming back. 

3d. By our oicn people iclio want to become intelligent 
Church-folk. Many of om^ people, both old and young, 
are not satisfied with the meager amount of information 
they have. They are perplexed to answer questions 
now so frequently asked by strangers, and so are be- 



t^REFACE. 



ginning to see that, in these days, it is not enough to 
be Churchmen, but all must be intelligent Churchmen. 

This little manual, making no claim to originality or 
profundity or completeness, is oftered as a help to these 
three classes. It may be distributed among interested 
persons, or used as a text-book in schools or guilds, and 
brotherhoods. In the latter case the Study Helps 
and Outlines " should be referred to in the preparation 
of each lesson and as a guide in tlie subsequent class 
work and discussions. 

It is not expected that a book so small, and covering 
so many topics, should leave nothing to be desired. It 
simply aims to give some information upon matters 
about which people are asking questions, and to show 
them where to get more. 

Grateful acknowledgment is here made to the many 

writers whose thoughts and words have been used in 

the preparation of these pages. 

Grace Church, Newton, Mass. 
Trinity-tide, 1893. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

Preface 3 

1. The Name of this Church 7 

2. How THIS Church came to be m America. 10 

3. How it is Connected with the Apostolic 

Church 14 

4. The Obligations of the American People 

to the Episcopal Church 19 

5. What '^The Proposed Book'^ was 23 

6. The Prayer- Book as it is 2G 

7. The Theological Teachings of the Serv- 

ices 29 

8. How THIS Church Differs from the Roman 

Catholic Church 32 

9. Features Held in Common with Some Prot- 

estant Bodies 36 

10. Relationship of this Church to Other 

Religious Bodies 40 

11. This Church in Sympathy with the Pres- 

ent Age 45 

12. Individual Opinions and Church Teaching 49 

13. Schools of Thought 53 

14. Words and Phrases not Always Under- 

stood 58 

15. Laws^ Usages, and Discipline 64 

16. Marriage and the Marriage Service 70 

17. The Burial of the Dead 75 



vi TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

18. The Eeligious Training op the Young 79 

19. Confirmation and Preparation for it 84 

20. The Position of Laymen 90 

21. Parochial Organizations 93 

22. The Care of the Poor. . . * ^ . i 98 

23. Missionary Work 101 

24. Music and Choirs 105 

25. Candidates for the Ministry ; . Ill 

26. The Calling and Settling of Ministers.. 116 

27. Places of Worship 120 

28. Symbolism and Ornamentation 123 

29. Variations in the Use of the Services . . 129 

30. The Significance of Details 132 

31. The Relationship of this Church to Holy 

Scripture 136 

32. The Use of Sacred Scripture 140 

33. The Use of the Psalms in Worship 143 

34. The Christian Year 147 

35. Morning and Evening Prayer 151 

36. The Holy Communion 157 

37. Hallowed Associations with the Church 

AND its Services 164 

On Using this Manual as a Text-Book for 

Classes 168 

Index 181 



MANUAL OF INFORMATION. 



I. 

The Name of this Church. 

During the colonial period of this country, from 1607 
to 1784, this Church was knov/n here as '^The Church 
of England. Its ministers and missionaries were 
clergymen of the Church of England, and many of them 
were supported, in whole or in part, by funds contrib- 
uted by the mother Church for missionary purposes. 

In the Preface to the American Prayer Book there is 
grateful acknowledgment of indebtedness to the Church 
of England for ^^her first foundation and long continu- 
ance of nursing care and protection." 

In some of the colonies at an early period provision 
was made by law for the endowment of parishes with 
glebe lands, and for the maintenance of the clergy. 
The Church was parochially established here in some 
places by law, jiffet as was the case in England. In 
others, where not thus definitely established, the ex- 
penses were met by subscriptions and contributions. 
In all cases the missions and parishes acknowledged 
fealty to the mother Church of England, and were nom- 
inally under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Bishop of 
London. IJntil the time of the American Revolution 



8 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



the Chiircli in the colonies was a part of the Church of 
England. 

The Eevolntion brought about many changes, and 
among them the independence of the Church in this 
country. As it is stated in the Preface to the American 
Prayer Book : When in the course of Divine Provi- 
dence these American States became independent with 
respect to civil government, their ecclesiastical inde- 
pendence was necessarily included." 

The first use of the title, The Protestant Episcopal 
Church," was in Maryland, where, in 1779, a law was 
passed by the colonial government recognizing the 
identity of the Protestant Episcopal Church with the 
Church of England, and securing to it its rights of 
property in the Church buildings, chapels, glebes, and 
endowments of the mother Church. 

The title again occurs in a j)a.per drawn up by some 
of the Maryland clergy in 1783, called ^'A Declaration 
of certain fundamental Rights and Liberties of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church of Maryland." 

The next year, 1784, at an important conference of 
clergy and laity from New York, New Jersey, and Penn- 
sylvania, held in New Brunswick, N. J., the Church 
was referred to as ^' The Episcopal Church," and as 
^^The Episcopal Church in the United States." 

Later in 1784, at another conference in Philadelphia, 
they spoke of it as ^^The Episcopal Church in these 
States," and as The Episcopal Churcli^s." A common 
designation was The Churches of the Episcopal Com- 
munion." The person who proposed the name ^^The 
Protestant Episcopal Church " in Maryland was the Eev. 
James J. Wilmer, who a number of years afterward, in 
a letter to Bishop Claggett, says that he moved that 
the Church of England, as heretofore known in this 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHFRCH. 



9 



province, be now called ^ The Protestant Episcopal 
Church.'" 

The official report of a convention held in New York 
in 1784 is headed ^'At a Convention of Clergymen and 
Lay Deputies of ^ The Protestant Episcopal Church in 
the United States of America.''' 

In 1785, at a convention held in Philadelphia, a reso- 
lution was passed that certain alterations in the Prayer 
Book be proposed and recommended to ^^The Protestant 
Episcopal Church in the States." 

This ^'Proposed Book," which was never adopted, 
contained the title '^Protestant Episcopal Church." 
The formal adoption of the Constitution of the Church 
in 1789 carried with it the name, for Article I. runs : 
There shall be a General Convention of ' The Protest- 
ant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.' " 

This has been the official title of this Church now for 
over a century. In late years various efforts have been 
made to change it. A movement to that effect was in- 
augurated in connection with the revision of the Prayer 
Book. Various suggestions were made, as, for example, 
the omission of ^'Protestant Episcopal," so that the title 
would be "The Church in the United States." Others 
proposed that it be called, as in the Creed, ''The Holy 
Catholic Church," and others, "The American Church." 

The reasons given by some for wishing a change are 
that the present title was adopted when the Church was 
a very feeble organization in this country, and_ that the 
name "Protestant Episcopal" gives it the appearance 
of a sect, whereas it is a branch of the Historic Church 
through its descent from the Church of England. On 
the other hand, it is claimed that the present title ac- 
curately defines the position of this Church as protest- 
ing against all perversions of the Christian faith, and 



10 



A Manual of informatioi^ 



as indicating the mode of government which it has re- 
ceived from the primitive, Apostolic Church. It is not 
proposed here to argue for or against the propriety of 
any change of name. Until changed by proper author- 
ity the official title of this Church is : The Protestant 
Episcopal Church in the United States of America.^' 

The common name by which it is spoken of by per- 
t^ons not in its membership is The Episcopal Church," 
^nd its members are called Episcopalians. Among its 
wn members two titles for it are often used: ^^The 
\Vmerican Church and The Church." It is also quite 
"usual for them to speak of its members as ^^Church- 
men." 

Referring to the fact that this Church holds view^ 
which antedate the rise of Protestantism, some of its 
members prefer being called Catholics." Unhappily, 
the word " Catholic " is not always understood by people 
generally. They confound it with Roman Catholic, for- 
getting that the Roman Church is but one branch of the 
Ca^tholic Church. Men may call themselves ^^Catho- 
lics " without being Roman Catholics. 

But without expressing any preference for a distin- 
jO^uishing name, and simply because most people know 
this Church best as The Episcopal ChnrcJi,^^ thsit title 
will be used in speaking of it in these chapters. 

II. 

How this Church came to be in America. 

There were many efforts in the sixteenth century to 
plant permanent colonies of English people on these 
shores. Some of the schemes failed before they were 
fairly developed, and others met with disaster at a later 
stage. 



CONCEKNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. H 

There were three motives back of these efforts at 
planting English colonies in America. As one says : 
"London merchants thought of it as a new field for 
trade. Bishops and clergy thought of the Indians as 
heathen to be saved. Statesmen had it in mind as a 
place wherein to found new States." In 1607 there 
sailed away from England '^with the Bishop's benedic- 
tion, with the King's favor and the people's good-will/' 
a colony destined for the shores of Virginia in the New 
World. They landed in April, and their first act was 
to kneel and unite with their Chaplain, the Rev. Robert 
Hunt, a clergyman of the Church of England, in offering 
the prayers and thanksgivings of the English Chui'ch. 

On the 21st of June, 1607, the Holy Communion was 
celebrated by their Chaplain in the rude Church build- 
ing which they had constructed. This Jamestown par- 
ish was the first of a number of missions and parishes 
of the English Church which were established from 
time to time in the different colonies. 

At the outbreak of the Revolution, after one hundred 
and fifty years of colonial life, these parishes had ex- 
tended from the chief towns and settlements on the 
seaboard where the Church had first found lodgment 
to many new places. Its greatest strength was in the 
Middle and Southern States. In New England it was 
weak except in Connecticut. It did not gi^ow very fast 
in the colonial days, for several reasons. In some sec- 
tions it met with very bitter opposition. At times there 
v,^ere outbreaks of strange fanaticism in religion, and 
then periods of the spread of infidel views. It was not 
a religious age, but the Church itself was not always as 
zealous for its own extension as it should have been, 
and it was not fully organized for its work, being with- 
out the local Episcopate. 



12 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



The Episcopal Church, without Bishops is somewhat 
like an army without officers. The Episcopate implies 
leadership, consolidation, and aggressive work. 

There were many difficulties in the way of acceding 
to this oft-repeated petition for the Episcopate in Amer- 
ica, and not the least was the steady opposition w^hich 
was made by the colonists who were not Churchmen. 
Besides this. Church and State being united in England, 
a Bishop became an important state official, and his 
coming here must involve many political complications. 

The ease with which Bishops are now secured for the 
most distant missionary jurisdictions was not the case 
in that age. The difficulties seemed almost insuperable. 

Now and then a commissary was sent over from Eng- 
land to serve as a kind of superintendent, adviser, and 
helper, but it was a Bishop they needed. The Church 
was defective without one. There could be no con- 
firmations or ordinations lAiless persons went to Eng- 
land for this purpose, and the voyage was then long 
and expensive, and perilous. Some candidates did 
brave the voyage to secure confirmation, and some 
students went from America to England to be ordained 
ministers, but the great majority of children of the 
Church grew up unconfirmed, the Church edifices were 
unconsecrated, and the parishes had no cohesive unity 
with each other. 

The Episcopate was not to be secured for America, 
however greatly it was needed in the colonial times, 
until after the Revolution. When the colonies became 
independent of the mother country through the success- 
ful issue of the war, their independence carried with it 
the independence of the colonial Church. 

After several tentative steps had been taken, repre- 
sentatives of the Church came together and adopted 



CONCEllNING THE EPISCOPAL C'ilUPvCil. 



13 



measures which were made necessary by the ehauged 
political circumstances of the country for a separate 
ecclesiastical existence. This involved changes in the 
Prayer Book, the adoption of a Constitution, and the 
securing of the Episcopate. 

The first Bishop here, however, was secured before 
this formal action had been taken, for Connecticut 
hastened, as soon as the war ended, to elect Dr. Sea- 
bury as their Bishop, and sent him to England for con- 
secration. Failing to secure consecration there^ he went 
to Scotland, where, in Aberdeen, 1784, he v»^as made a 
Bishop by some of the non-juring Bishops then residing 
in that comitry. 

Upon application being duly made to the English 
Church by the Dioceses of Pennsylvania and New York 
for the conferring of the Episcopate upon the Kev. Dr. 
White and the Eev. Dr. Provoost, a law was at length 
passed by the British Parliament permitting the conse- 
cration of these two, without requiring of them the 
usual oath of allegiance to the British government. 
Their consecration as Bishops took place in Lambeth 
Chapel, London, England, February 4, 1786. The 
American Prayer Book, being a revision of the Prayer 
Book of the Church of England, was set forth in 1789, 
and in the same year a Constitution was adopted. Thus, 
then, with Bishops of its own, Vv^th a service book 
adapted to its needs, and with a Constitution providing 
for the imion and communion of its different parts in 
this country, this Church began its career as an inde- 
pendent organization. Independent, but not losing its 
links of connection with the Church of England, through 
which it is connected with the Church of the primitive 
ages. 

Its history since 1789 may be divided into two periods, 



X4 A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 

The first was its period of recuperation from the disin- 
tegration occasioned by the Revolution, lasting down 
to about 1820 ; and the second was the period of new 
life beginning in 1821, with the formation of the Mis- 
sionary Society, and extending on to the present day. 

It took years for the Church to recover from the ca- 
lamities brought upon it by the war. Its valuable lands 
in some sections had been forfeited, its buildings were 
permitted to fall into decay or were destroyed, parishes 
were broken up, and clergy and people were scattered. 
The most bitter prejudices were held toward it because 
of its English origin, and because of the attitude of many 
of its members before and dm^ing the great conflict. 

Only gradually did it recover its strength, and very 
'slowly did antagonism to it die away. It had to con- 
vince the American people that it was not un-Ameri- 
can, and when that task was accomplished other preju- 
dices arose from other quarters, so that its successes 
have been won in the face of the most decided opposi- 
tion. But it has grown from a very obscure condition 
to one of prominence and usefulness. 

III. 

How the Episcopal Church is connected with the 
Primitive Church. 

In the preceding chapter we have seen that this 
Church is descended from the Church of England, and 
that it was planted here in colonial days by chaplains, 
ministers, and missionaries of the English Church. 

It is important now to trace the history of the English 
Church, to see how through that body the Episcopal 
Church in the United States has links of connection with 
the Church in the earliest ages, 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



15 



There are several popular blunders which we en- 
counter at once as we begin to stady the history of the 
Church of England. One is that that Church is a split 
from the Eoman Catholic Church ; another, that it was 
founded by Henry VIII. ; and a third, that Christianity 
was first introduced into Britain by Soman missionaries. 
These blunders are not only common, but tliey are 
sometimes found in histories of England, and are very 
stoutly maintained by some Romanists and other an- 
tagonists of this Church. 

No one, however, who examines the facts and the au- 
thorities in the case Vvdll hold any one of these blunders. 

Instead of being a split from the Roman Catholic 
Church, the friends of the Pope separated themselves 
from the Church of England by his comm.and in the 
reign of Queen Elizabeth. Up to that time the English 
nation had gone along with the Reformation, except 
during the reaction in the reign of Queen Mary. Many 
of them did not approve of the changes made, but they 
attended the services and remained in the communion 
of the Church of England. When Pope Pius Y, excom- 
municated the Queen in 1570, he ordered his adherents 
to withdraw from the services of the English Church, 
and thus the Roman schism in England began. 

The poi^ular notion that Ilemy YIIL founded a new 
Church to serve his own evil purposes is entirely dis- 
proved by the history of the case. Briefly stated in the 
words of another, it runs thus : 

" Many ancient authorities concur in the testimony 
that St. Paul himself preached in Britain about the 
year 60. In the second century the British Church was 
fully organized. In 314 three British Bishops were 
present at the Council of Aries. When Augustine, the 
first emissary of the Roman Church, came to England 



16 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATIOI^ 



in A.D. 59G, he found the British Church fully established 
with one Archbishop and seven Bishops. Thus it is 
evident that the source of our Church is independent of 
Eome. Even Augustine did not receive his Episcopate 
from Eome, but from Lyons, in France. 

The historij of the English Church covers four ])eriods : 

"1st. The British Period, from the first century to the 
seventh, with no Roman influence. 

" 2d. TJie Anglo-Saxon Period, lasting till the eleventh 
century, during which Roman influence developed. 

"3d. The Anglo-Pioman Period, from the eleventh 
century to the sixteenth, with Roman dominion strong. 

"4:th. Tlte English Period, since the sixteenth century, 
the period when the independence of the First Period is 
restored, and the ancient privileges resumed." 

Another has stated the history in these words : 

" The Church vras introduced into England in the first 
century, probably by St. Paul. The ancient Prayer 
Books of the Church of England also indicate a strong 
influence from the Church at Ephesus, where St. John 
spent the latter half of his life, and where St. Paul left 
Timothy as its Bishop. Of this we are certain, viz. : 
that the Christian Church was strong in Britain at the 
beginning of the fourth century. As early as a.d. 314, 
British Bishops were in attendance at a council held at 
Aries. The British Church had the apostolic constitu- 
tion of Bishops, Priests, and Beacons, and was in full 
communion with the rest of the Church of Christ wher- 
ever it existed. 

"It was six hundred years after Christ before the 
Roman branch of the Church sent its missionaries to 
England. There is not a shadow of i^retense that 
Christianity was introduced into England by the Church 
at Rome. It is true, on account of the hostility between 



CONCERNTNa TTIE KPISCOrAT. CHURCH. 



17 



tJie Britons and tlieir invaders the Saxons, who had 
conquered a large part of England, that the British 
Church was not in a condition to bring the latter to 
Christianity ; she therefore turned her attention to 
other missionary work. The Church at Rome then im- 
dertook to proclaim Christianity to these neglected Sax- 
ons, and did vrell in sending out its missionaries. 

" For many years these two branches of the Church 
worked together in the British Isles. Each recognized 
the other as a true branch of the Church Catholic, with 
its apostolic ministry. As the race prejudices died 
out, and the Britons and Saxons united to form one na- 
tion, so these two branches of the Church gradually 
coalesced into one body called ever afterward the 
Church of England. This historic fact is commemo- 
rated on the front of Lichfield Cathedral, re-built in the 
twelfth century. In niches on one side of the main en- 
trance are statues in stone of the British Bishops. On 
the other side are statues of the Bishops in succession 
from Rome. These two lines significantly meet at the 
top over the great door. 

Our gratitude to the Latin Church ceases only with 
the presumption of the Bishop of Rome in attempting 
to make himself Universal Bishop or Pope. With the 
aid of some of England's faint-hearted kings, the Bishop 
of Rome succeeded in tyrannizing over the Church of 
England for three or four hundred years. Through his 
influence, some of the false doctrines and evil practices 
of the Church in Italy were introduced into England. 
But this was not to continue. God made use "of polit- 
ical circumstances to further His own most sacred 
purpose. 

" Many in the British Isles had been longing for years 
to get away from this uncatholic subjection to the 



18 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



Bishop of Home, and from the uncatholic customs. 
Three centuries ago, at the great Reformation, the 
Church of England succeeded in throwing off her alle- 
giance to the Pope of Rome, and became as Catholic 
once more in doctrine and worship as she had alwaj^s 
been in Constitution. This is the Church which the 
American Church owns as her mother, and to whom 
she looks with pride. This is the Church which the ig- 
norant declare to have originated with the wicked 
Henry YIII." 

Henry YIII. was no friend of the Reformation. He 
never accepted the reformed doctrines. His quarrel 
Yv'ith the Pope led to the overthrow of the usurped do- 
minion which this foreign pontiff had exercised over 
the English people and their Church, and the overtlirov/ 
of the Pope's povrer in England facilitated the Reforma- 
tion. This Reformation was, after all, but a return to 
the old doctrines and usages which had long before 
been held by the English Church. 

Very little was done toward reforming the Church in 
the days of King Henry. It was during the short reign 
of his successor, Edward YL, that much good vrork was 
done in this direction, especially in setting forth the 
service book in English. There came a reaction when 
Edvrard died and Mary ascended the throne. But upon 
the accession of Elizp.beth the nation and the Church 
were again freed from the papal yoke. 

Thus, then, the Episcopal Church in this country 
traces its lineage back through the Church of England 
to the earliest ages of Christianity. It is connected 
through the English Church with the Church of the 
East, and is a true branch of the Apostolic Church. 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



19 



IV. 

The Obligations of the American People to the 
Episcopal Church. 

It is not generally understood how important a part 
the Episcopal Church has taken in matters affecting the 
welfare of the American people. 

By some it is thought of as an exotic, more English 
than American, out of sympathy with American feel- 
ings, and incapable of adapting itself to the needs of 
American life. By others it is regarded as always an 
intrusive element, arrogating to itself absurd preten- 
sions, and doing more to hinder progress than to help 
it. They point scornfully to its English origin and its 
early history, and to what they call its sluggish conserv- 
atism. In some other cases where people do not look 
at this Church thus disapprovingly, they simply fail to 
notice it at all. They are ignorant of what it is and of 
what it has done. It must be remembered that only of 
late years has it loomed up into such prominence as to 
compel attention. It has not been the popular religion 
of the land, nor is it popular now in many sections. In 
fact, it is well-nigh unknown yet in some parts of our 
country. But with the growing intelligence of the 
American people and the decay of old prejudices, espe- 
cially owing to the new life which is pervading every 
part of this Church and making it earnest and aggres- 
sive as a power for good wherever it goes, there is the 
starting of questions about it. 

When men look over its history carefully and study 
its principles, they find that it is a very different or- 
ganization from what many of its antagonists have rep- 
resented it, and different from what many in their lack 
of knowledge supposed it to be. Among the many 



20 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



things which are becoming better nnderstood is the 
value this Church has been to the American people. 

We are to look at some of these overlooked facts : 

1st. llie way for tlie Ilevolution was inwecl hij tlie Cliurcli 
controversies ut Virginia. Said Bishop Meade: ^^The 
vestries, who were the intelligence and moral strength 
of the land, had been slowly fighting the battles of the 
Revolution for a himdred and fifty years. Taxation 
and representation were only the words for support and 
election of ministers. The principle was the same." 
His reference is to the claim of the vestries to a voice 
in deciding who were to be the ministers they must 
help support. They objected to arbitrary appointments. 
These old controversies had as much to do with loosen- 
ing the bonds between England and the colonies as did 
the town meeting in New England. 

Says the late W. C. Rives: ^^AYithout denying to 
other religious bodies their full and glorious share in 
the early struggles for political liberty in Virginia, the 
leaders and chief actors were members of the Estab- 
lished Chui^ch.'' 

2d. Again, all Churchmen icere not Tories. On the 
contrary, the majority of those who signed the Declara- 
tion of Independence were Churchmen. The lists can 
be gone over by any one, and it will be found by refer- 
ence to the religious affiliations of the men whose names 
are attached to that important document, that a major- 
ity of them were members of this Church as it then 
existed in the colonies. If the signers of the Declara- 
tion of Independence were representative men, then see 
what a strong word is spoken for this Church by the 
fact that a majority of them were Churchmen. 

3d. A tliird important fact is that Washi)ujton was a 
Charcliuianj and the placing of the command of the 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



21 



American forces in his hands gave at once a national 
character to the movement which might otherwise liave 
been but a mere sectional struggle v/ith English rule. 
His character needs no eulogy, and his work for his 
country has written his name in every American heart. 
The Father of his Country was a communicant of this 
Church. 

4th. When the war was over tlic influence of Clt urcli- 
men icas felt in the moulding of tlie civil government. 
There was mnch confusion ajid there were many minds 
when the struggle for liberty ended. The Confederacy 
of the Colonies was found to be unsatisfactory, and 
many wild schemes were proposed. We owe it largely 
to the wisdom and to the conservative spirit of Church- 
men that the civil government became what it is, so 
wisely planned, so generous, and so comprehensive — a 
blessing to uncounted thousands who have been drawn 
to these shores. 

5th. Not only in the formative period of the country, 
however, but in its later develoirinents inucli is due to 
ChurcJimen. They have always been friends of refine- 
ment and education, and thus have done something to 
tone down the asperities of our nev/ bustling American 
character, and to vindicate the claims of genuine cult- 
ure as opposed to the mad rush for money-making. 

Beside this, our Church has stood firmly for a simple 
faith and a sober piety in days when great whirlwinds 
of religious excitement have swept over the country. 
It used to be one of the common reasons for complaint 
that it did not fall in vrith the revival movements which 
w^ere once su^Dposed to be so desirable. The wisdom 
of the Church's ways has since been vindicated. The 
views of CJln-istian nurture for which it contended 
have been gradually adoxjted by other religious bodies, 



22 



A MANUAL OF INP^ORMATION 



and the noisy revival excitements are matters of the 
past. 

A very great deal of what is commendcible in tlie im- 
proved condition of religions life in this country can be 
traced directly to the influence of this Church, as, for 
example, the better styles of ecclesiastical architecture 
which are rapidly taking the place of the barn-like 
structures once deemed good enough for sacred uses ; 
the higher styles of music by which the praises of God 
are more fittingly rendered ; the observance of sacred 
seasons other than Sunday, so that religious truth is as- 
sociated with, and recalled by, the changes of the year ; 
and finally the introduction of numerous measures of 
benevolent activity vfhereby the condition of the once 
neglected classes may be improved. 

Some of these results are not always directly credited 
to the influence of the Episcopal Church, and it may be 
that many enjoy these benefits without knowing that 
they are due so largely to a Church which is as yet 
scarcely known in some sections of our country. 

The American people have already profited greatly 
because of the Episcopal Church. The probability is 
that, as i^opulation becomes more settled, and as the in- 
fluence of this Church is more distinctly felt, as it must 
be, it Avill be appreciated more highly than it is now. 
The hopes of some Churchmen are that it will become 
the Church of the American people, not, perhaps, in 
counting in its membership the greater part of the 
population, but at least in becoming the strong, con- 
trolling, and wholesome influence for truth and right- 
eousness. 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



23 



V. 

What the Proposed Book" was. 

One of the first needs of the Church in this country, 
after it became independent of the Church of England, 
was a Prayer Book of its own. Accordingly, at a con- 
vention held in Philadelphia in 1785, a committee was 
appointed to submit to the convention a schedule of 
changes which vfere deemed necessary in the English 
Prayer Book to adapt it to the Church's needs here. 

This committee made a report while the convention 
was in session, and some of their recommendations 
were at once adopted, but others were reported back to 
them for further consideration. After the convention 
adjourned the committee published an edition of a 
Prayer Book with these changes, and others which 
they themselves made. This book has ever since been 
known as ^^The Proposed Book," for the simple reason 
that it was proposed for use, but never actually adopted. 
It is sometimes incorrectly called ^^The Bishop TMiite 
Prayer Book," because he was one of the committee of 
revision, but Dr. William Smith of Maryland had more 
to do with it than the Bishop. This Proposed Book" 
has come into fresh notice in late years, because of its 
adoption by a body calling themselves Keformed Epis- 
copalians. 

Inasmuch as in many respects it is the same as the 
Prayer Book now in use in the Episcopal Church, it will 
be necessary to refer here only to the points of differ- 
ence. 

1st. Omitting the English State Ser^uces, it had a 
service for the 4th of July, 'n3eing the Anniverspay of 
Independence." 

2d. It omitted certain words and phrases, and 



24 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



changed others. Thus the Yv^orcl '^regenerate " was left 
out of the Exhortation after Baptism ; the word " un- 
baptized " was dropped out of the rubric before the 
Burial Office ; the sign of the cross in Baptism was 
omitted ; "member of Christ in the Catechism became 
member of the Christian Church/' and ''He descended 
into helP' was left out of the Apostles' Creed. 

3d. It omitted the Nicene Creed, and the Gloria Patri 
after the versicles, and left the selection of the Psalms 
and Lessons to be read at the discretion of the Minister. 

''The Proposed Book" was received with very little 
favor. It did not suit some because it did not propose 
changes enough. It did not suit others because it pro- 
posed too many. 

There were those who regarded it as inclining toward 
the denial or neglect of the doctrine of the Trinity, and 
others made objection to other parts or to the general 
tone of certain portions. Some conventions rejected it 
at once, others postponed its consideration, and still 
others demanded fresh alterations. It was used only in 
a few places ; it never came into general use. 

T]ie committee who published it saw .very soon that 
it was a failure, and as Bishop White said, "In regard 
to the Liturgy, the labors of the convention had not 
reached their object." The parishes generally kept on 
using the English Prayer Book, making such changes 
as were deemed necessary. 

Another obstacle to the adoption of " The Proposed 
Book " was the hindrance it presented when the Episco- 
pate was asked from the English Church. The English 
Bishops deemed some of the changes so radical that 
they dreaded lest the American Church might be swept 
away from the historic faith of Christianity. 

In a communication from the Archbishops of Canter- 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL (;HUKCH. 



25 



bury and York, they say : ^^We saw with grief that two 
of the Confessions of our Christian Faith, respectable 
for their antiquity, have been entirely laid aside, and 
that even in that called the Apostles' Creed an article 
is omitted which was thought necessary to be inserted 
with a view to a particular heresy in a very early age 
of the Church, and has ever since had the venerable 
sanction of universal reception." They refer to the dis- 
use of the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, and to the 
omission of ^^He descended into helP' in the Apostles' 
Creed. Finally, at a convention held in 1789, ' The 
Proposed Book ' found no one to say a good word for 
it/' and there was set forth that which vfe now have. 

The English Prayer Book was revised so as to bring 
it into harmony T^dth the changed political condition of 
the colonies. An Office for the Visitation of Prisoners 
Avas adopted from the Irish Prayer Book, and the 
Prayers of Consecration in the Communion Service 
were taken from the Scotch Book. The service for 
Thanksgiving Day was borrowed from ^^The Proposed 
Book," and an order for Family Prayer was set forth. 

Some other changes here and there were made, but 
all with due care and caution. The Preface distinctly 
states that this Church is far from intending to depart 
from the Chm'ch of England in any essential point of 
doctrine, discipline, and worship, or further than local 
circumstances require." 

^^The Proposed Book," says Bishop Perry, speedily 
sank into obscurity." ^An edition omitting the Arti- 
cles and Visitation Office was published in New York in 
1873 for the Eeformed Episcopal body, who separated 
from this Church about that time under the leadership 
of Bishop Cummins." 

Bishop Perry speaks of it as ^^a hasty, crude, and un- 



26 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



satisfactory eompilation Trhicli failed utterly to establish 
itself in the American Church. It was and ever will be 
only ' The Pro]30sed Book/ and the question of its adop- 
tion was not even considered by the following general 
convention." 

VI. 

The Prayer Book as it is. 

Our present Prayer Book was set forth in 1789, and 
is a revision of the Prayer Book of the Church of Eng- 
land. Of late years it has been again revised, but has 
been changed in no important doctrinal particular. Its 
general contents, and all its doctrines, are the same as 
they have always been. The changes have been mainly 
in the way of giving greater flexibility in the use of the 
services, and in enriching the services themselves. The 
Prayer Book proper ends with and includes the Psalter, 
but the Articles of Keligion, the Ordinal, and some of 
the occasional Oflices are bound up with it. It contains 
some prefatory matter relating to the selection of Script- 
ures and Psalms which are to be used, and a list of Holy 
Days which are to be observed. 

Then follow the Services for Morning and Evening, 
the Litany, the special Prayers and Thanksgivings, the 
Collects, Epistles, and Gospels, the Communion Service, 
the Baptismal Service, the Catechism, and the Forms 
for Confirmation, Matrimony, Visitation of the Sick, 
Commimion of the Sick, Burial of the Dead, and a few 
other Offices, ending with the Psalter. 

Bound up with the Prayer Book are the Thirty-nine 
Articles, the Ordination and Consecration Ser^-ices, and 
the Order for instituting a Minister. 

The directions for the proper rendering of the various 
services are contained in what are called tlic BuhricSy 



CONCERNING} TTilE EPiSCOML CilURCH. 27 



preceding and following, and scattered tlirougli the 
different Offices. 

The Rubrics are so called because of the ancient cus- 
tom of printing these directions in red ink, a custom 
still retained in some editions of the book. Ordinarily, 
however, they are printed in italics with a (51) para^ 
graph mark preceding them. 

1st. The Prayer Book as it is is designed for use hij all. 
The worship in this Church is to be engaged in by all 
present. It is not a spectacle in w^hich the Minister, the 
choir, and a few others do something at w^hich the 
others are to look as mere spectators. The participa- 
tion by all is contemplated, hence there are postures to 
be observed, such as standing and kneeling, and re- 
sponses to be made. It is a united service, and in view 
of its being so, is often called ^* Common Prayer.'^ 

2d. It contains reverent and ai^propriate forms of devo- 
tion. There is nothing in it to shock the reverential in- 
stincts of any one, no new and startling expressions 
to provoke wrong feelings, and no vagaries to suggest 
wonder and to excite controversy. During the progress 
of a service conducted after its manner, each one is 
treated as engaged in the most important acts in which 
a human being can take part, and he is taught how fit- 
tingly to pour out his prayers and praises to the Lord 
of all. 

3d. It sets before us a style of piety that is icortlty of 
imitation. Some religious books encourage gloom. 
Others make men shallow and superficial. Others are 
defective when measured by any right standard. This 
book does not encourage a one-sided or deficient piety, 
but helps us to be w^ell developed and symmetrical in 
our religious life. The style of piety it encourages in- 
cludes penitence for sin, and abounding trust in the 



28 



A MANUAL or IXFORMATION'' 



mercy of God tlirough Christ Jesus our Lord, a devout 
recognition of tlie goodness of tlie Lord, and a disposi- 
tion to show forth His praise, both in our lips and in 
our lives. 

4th. "WJiile it is comi^osed of forms, it condemns mere 
formalism. It discountenances the latter by its earnest 
and importunate spirit, by the constant use of Script- 
ure, by duly varying the exercises, by the frequent con- 
trasting the lips and the life, by the constant enforce- 
ment of inward truth, and the incessant invocation of 
that Holy Spirit without Whom nothing is strong, 
nothing is holy." Every possible safeguard is thus 
provided to keep those who use it from mere formalism. 
If they should yield to the temptation which comes to 
all Christians to offer only lip-service instead of that 
spiritual worship with which alone God is pleased, they 
are constantly rebuked by the very services here ap- 
pointed. 

oth. In the use of these services many thousands have 
fed the flame of devotion in tJicir souls, and through them 
have received that strength which made them conquer- 
ors of themselves and of the world. These prayers have 
gone up from the hearts of some of the best who ever 
lived on the earth. These praises have been sung by 
saintly spirits now in paradise. We are joined to a 
mighty com_pany of God's elect, and we are worshiping 
Him as they delighted to worship Him when we take 
our part now in these forms of devotion. We are united 
vrith the saints of all ages, and with the Church trium- 
j)]iant. In addition to this, these services widen out 
our sympathies for all sorts and conditions of men. 

The social feeling, softening and affecting as it is when 
experienced in reference to those who worship under 
the same consecrated roof, becomes sublime and ele- 



OONCERNINO THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



29 



Vating wlien it breaks a])road beyond tlie precincts of 
the Church in whicli it is awakened, and takes in its 
warm grasp all in distant and separated places who are 
occupied in worshiping God with the same prayers and 
praises. It makes us imperfectly to realize the com- 
munion of the saints when we reflect that earth is 
almost encircled by a continuous echoed strain of our 
pleading Litanies and exulting Doxologies." 

VII. 

The Theological Teachings of the Prayer Book 
Services. 

A very good term for these services would be ^^Devo- 
tional Theology/^ for they bring before us the truths of 
religion for the purposes of devotion. But what truths 
do they bring before us ? We turn to the services and 
ask. 

First of all, What ideas of God do tlicy convey ? No one 
can study these services without seeing that their con- 
ception of Deity is the unity of the Godhead under the 
three forms of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This is 
evident from the titles of the prayers, from the expres- 
sions in the exhortations, from canticles and doxologies, 
from versicles and benedictions. God in three Persons 
is the Prayer-Book view, as opposed to Pantheism, to 
Atheism, and to Unitarianism. It plants itself squarely 
upon the foundation that God exists as Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost, ever one God. Where the distinction be- 
tween the Persons of the Godhead is not expressed in 
explicit terms, it is referred to in the distinction be- 
tween creation, redemption, and sanctification. 

It would be impossible, then, to get rid of the doctrine 
of the Trinity in these services without making very 



30 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



radical changes, not only in expression, but in the whol6 
of the implications of these services. 

It must be noted that the wisdom of the Church is 
shown, with reference to this doctrine, in not being wise 
above what is revealed. The statements and implica- 
tions are based upon what GrOd has made known of His 
own nature. The definitions are broad and inclusive. 
The stopping place is clearly made on this side of 
where solid truth meets with shadowy speculation. It 
wOuld be difficult to construct forms of devotion that 
bfesent the Deity in more attractive aspects. The di- 
vine Fatherhood, the sympathetic Humanity, the ever- 
blessed Consoler, these are the three leading views 
put before redeemed children addressing the benignant 
Father, brethren beloved coming to the Elder Brother, 
souls needing sanctification receiving the Holy Spirit, 
the Source of Holiness. 

God is conceived as having an interest in all of hu- 
man affairs, as being willing to be approached by His 
children, and as so regarding us with tender solicitude 
that He turns not away from any humble cry. 

It has been a peculiar mission of this Church to 
furnish a refuge for many who h^ve turned wearily 
away from the false and distorted and terrible views of 
Deity which from time to time men have taught. 

2d. JVliat do tlte services teach concerning man? Do 
they regard man as innocent, needing no redemption f 
Far from it. Not as innocent, but as sinful, needing 
redemption and sanctification. They do not forget that 
man has fallen from innocence, but they bring into equal 
prominence the fact that the sinner has a Saviour, and 
that a new nature may be given to the sinner, so that 
he may be sanctified and made meet for heaven. 

If these services contemplated man simply as in the 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 31 

ruin in which sin left him, there would be nothing in 
them but wails of misery and cries for mercy. But they 
contemplate man as the object of a Redeemer's love 
as brought back to God, and as being now influenced 
by the Holy Ghost. 

The whole tone of these services echoes the grace of 
redemption and honors the work of the Spirit now in 
progress. 'While they constantly remind us that the old 
nature clings to us and is evil, they teach us to regard 
it as possible that the image of Christ may be formed in 
us, and that that is indestructible throughout eternity 
which has the likeness of Christ. 

3d. Wltat do these services teach as to duty f The brief- 
est answer is that they teach us to love God and man, 
to acquire that strong affection which makes obedience 
to duty easy, and which prompts us to ask not how, little, 
but how much, we can do for God's glory and for man's 
welfare. We are not under bondage to a harsh task- 
master, but are serving a loving Father, and all man- 
kind are brothers to us. 

Starting out with this conception of duty, its several 
details become sanctified because the Lord's blessing 
and the Lord's help are invoked upon them. Duty is 
lifted up thus into high and holy service, to be rendered 
gladly as a sacred offering of love. 

4th. What noiv is their teaching as to the future life? 
It recognizes first of all that there is a future life for 
body and for soul. It does not speak doubtfully of 
eternity and of the resurrection. It presents these as 
facts, not as guesses, or as inferences. It recognizes 
the distinctions which must exist in the condition of 
men in the future life, the difference between the saved 
and the lost. While it does not enter into matters not 
revealed, it draws out the contrast between those who 



32 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



enter into the portion of the }3lessed and those who are 
driven from the presence of the Lord. 

5th. What does it teach njwn other j^ointsf It has its 
teaching as to human government, as to the parental 
and conjugal relationships, as to the poor and the needy, 
and many other topics. It counsels submission to law 
by teaching us to pray for our rulers, both temporal and 
spiritual. It encourages in like way respect for official 
station, reverence for parents, and fidelity to vows. It 
teaches us to sympathize with the poor and with all 
sufferers. It broadens out our sympathies for all sorts 
and conditions of men as parts of the human brother- 
hood, and as subjects of the loving care of God and of 
the redemption of Christ Jesus. 

Compare these theological teachings of the Church 
services with the ^vord of God, and they are found to be 
identical. If identical, then are they true. 

These services, then, can be used with the assurance 
that we shall find nothing in them contrary to the great 
principles of divine revelation. We shall find in them 
a " Devotional Theology " which, while it helps our ap- 
proaches to God, will instruct us in the fundamentals 
of religion, making indeed our devotions our safeguards 
in the truth. 

VIII. 

Wherein the Episcopal Church differs from the 
Roman Catholic Church. 

One of the prejudices entertained by some persons 
against the Episcopal Church arises from its supposed 
likeness to the Eoman Catliolic Church. 

The stranger accustomed to the usages of a religious 
body whose services are held in a plain, unadorned 
meeting-house, and where no precomposed form of 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



33 



service is used, finds himself some day in one of our 
churches. He notices how different is the arrangement 
of the interior. The prominence of the altar, the free 
use of the cross as a symbol, and various other matters 
arrest his attention. 

Then when the service begins he notes that the offi- 
ciating Minister wears a vestment, a distinctive dress, 
not used by his own Minister. As the service proceeds 
he finds himself perplexed over usages with vv'hieh he is 
unfamiliar. Possibly the impression made upon him at 
first is not favorable. Everything being so different 
from that with which he has been familiar in his Prot- 
estant worship, he concludes that they must be very 
much like Eoman Catholic usages. 

Another stranger, perhaps, has heard but little of the 
Episcopal Church except as it has been associated with 
Romanism by its uninstructed opponents ; for, strange 
as it may appear, it has come in for a very large share 
of unreasoning and ignorant abuse. Its history, doc- 
trines, and usages have often been so greatly misun- 
derstood and misrepresented that many persons have 
held aloof from it lest they might be beguiled into fa- 
voring something very much like Romanism. It is not 
creditable to the fairness of many that they are willing 
to make attacks upon a religious body Vv'hose principles 
may so readily be learned ; nor is it creditable to the 
intelligence of others that they are so firmly held in the 
bonds of prejudices which a very little examination 
woidd dispel. 

The attitude of this Church toward the errors of the 
Itoman Catholic system may readily be seen by an exami- 
nation of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion which are 
printed in all our Prayer Books. There you will find 
nearly every leading Romish error officially condemned^ 



34 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



and in language so emphatic tliat the accusation of our 
favoring these errors is disiirovecl at once. Very posi- 
tive is the declaration in Article XIX., that the Church 
of Eome has erred, not only in living and manner of 
ceremonies, but also in matters of faith." 

Tlie vol/ name of this Church is another proof in the 
same direction, for it is '^The Protestant Episcopal 
Church,'' p.nd was so called because our American fore- 
fathers would thus protest against the errors of Eoman- 
ism, as well as against all other perversions of the truth. 

Then compare the Frayer Loot: itself with the JRoman 
Manuals of Bevoiion^ and you vrill find important dif- 
ferences on nearly every page. For, vrhile the Prayer 
Book is scriptural and primitive, the Roman Manuals 
are filled with doctrines which are foimd neither in the 
Scriptures nor in tlie liturgies of the early Church. 

Consider J moreover, the coutroversial literature. Ytliere 
can there be found stronger condemnation of the erro- 
neous teachings of Rome than are contained in the 
writings of members of the Church of England and of 
the Episcopal Church. To mention but a fevv' of them 
is to show that the very titles disprove the assertion 
of likeness. Thus we have: Plain Reasons against 
joining the Church of Rome," by Littledale ; " The True 
Catholic no Romanist," by Bishop Odenheimer ; "The 
Eaith of our Forefathers,'' by Stearns. There are hosts 
of others which are accessible to all, and in them will 
be found very clear statements of the differences which 
separate us from Romanism. 

Hear such words as these from a recent sermon by 
one of our clergymen : 

" Rome has perverted the truths of Holy Writ, cor- 
rupted the teachings of the General Councils, violated 
their decrees, and added to their creed. Witness the 



CONCERXIXCl THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



35 



doctrine of traiisiibstantiation, the worship of the Vir- 
gin Mary, the intercession of saints, the adoration of 
images and relics, her doctrine of purgatory, indul- 
gences, the so-called sacraments of penance and extronio 
unction, the supremacy of the Pope, and papal infalli- 
bility. Other rites, ceremonies, and their inseparable 
erroneous teachings, the offspring of superstition, be- 
long to this catalogue." 

It would be difficult to find anything more emphatic 
in the way of condemnation of Romanism than you can 
find in the Prayer Book itself, and in the writings just 
referred to. 

But the objector says, '^All of this may be true, and 
yet, as a matter of fact, do not many persons go from 
your Church to Romanism ? '' 

The answer is, it can be shown from statistics that 
the larger proportion of perverts to Rome are from the 
non-Episcopal bodies. Usually when one goes from this 
Church it will be found that he first came to us from 
some other body, and that he Avas never really instructed 
in the principles of this Church. If he had been, he 
would never have gone from us, for the greatest secur- 
ity against perversion to Rome is to be well instructed 
in the principles of the Episcopal Church. 

Without any discourtesy, then, we may say to the ob- 
jector that he has not properly studied the subject or he 
would see that there is a vast difference between the 
Episcopal Church and the Roman Catholic Church, and 
the difference consists in these points : 

1st. The Episcopal Church clings closely to primitive 
truth and repudiates tiie errors of later days. 

2d. It has a simpler form of worship, and rejects the 
complicated system which centers itself iu the Roman 
doctrine of the Mass, 



36 



A MAXUAL OF IXFORMATiOX 



3d. It aims to develop iu its members an intelligent 
understanding of tlie truths of the gospel, and to win 
them to sneh a love of those truths that the result will 
be shown in their e very-day lives. 

The objector must learn, too, that vrhile this Church 
thus diiiers from the Eoman Catholic Church, it also 
differs from the religious bodies around it in some 
respects. It occupies a position of its own which is 
worthy of being studied, and which must be studied if 
one vrould avoid tlie blunder of classing it with Eoman- 
ism on the one hand, and with sectarianism on the other. 

It is not a sect. It is a Church as old as Christianity. 

IX. 

Features held in common by the Episcopal Church 
and some of the Protestant Bodies. 

There are iioints of agreement between some of the 
Protestant bodies of Christians and the Episcopal 
Church, as there are points of difference. It is well to 
study these features of resemblance. Of course, in 
speaking of the Protestant bodir\s we can have in mind 
now only some of those wliicli are prominent for num- 
bers and influence in this country. It would be im- 
possible to consider in this connection the multitude of 
organizations whose vievrs are either not well known 
generally, or which defy any broad classification. For 
the present purpose, we consider the Methodist, the 
Baptist, the Presbyterian, the Congregational, and the 
Lutheran denominations. 

In the omission of others it is not implied that some 
of them do not hold the views hereafter specified, but 
simply that these five stand at the head of the list of 
non-Episcopal bodies in this country, and their beliefs 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



37 



are usually better known than the others. Between 
these five great organizations and the Episcopal Church 
there are certain important features of resemblance : 

1st. The most notable one of all is that theu make 
prominent the gospel plan of redemption. They decla.re 
man's need of salvation, and they preach Christ as the 
only Saviour of sinners. They bear clear testimony to 
the completeness of redemption through the Lord Jesus. 
His holy life and His sacrificial death are the key-note 
of their preaching. They know nothing of the media- 
tion of saints and angels. They believe in a completed 
salvation through the Son of God, and hence the great 
theme of their instructions is Jesus Christ and Him 
crucified. 

Sometimes, in ignorance of the position of the Epis- 
copal Church, denials are made as to the evangelical 
character of its teachings, but nowhere else can there 
be found more simple and direct gospel teaching than 
in this Church. 

2d. The next point of likeness is that tlicy accept tlie 
doctrine of the Tri}iitij. It is probable, however, that this 
doctrine and all the other doctrines of Christianity are 
more regularly and more systematically presented by 
the Episcopal Church than by any Protestant body, be- 
cause of the constant repetition of the Creeds and the 
Glorias in worship, and also because of the observance 
of the Christian j^ear, by which each doctrine in turn 
comes into prominence. At the same time these five 
Protestant bodies before named are Trinitarian in their 
standards and in their teaching. They jn'oclaim God — 
as Father, Son, and Holy Gliost, and in the administra- 
tion of baptism use the formula appointed by our Lord. 

A firm belief in the doctrine of the Trinity implies 
the proclamatioji of the distinctive offices of each Per- 



38 



A MANUAL OF IXFORMATK ):n 



son of the Trinity — the Fatherhood, the Brotherhood, 
the Ind^velling. 

God is our Father, and has for iis a Father's love. 
God is oiir Eedeemer, and has taken onr nature upon 
Him. God is our Sanetiher, and comes to dAveii vdthin 
us. 

3d. They resemble each other in the next pla.ce in tlie 
liigli estimate thcu put upon the Sacred Scriptures as con- 
taining GoiVs revelation. The Scriptures are with them 
the standard of ultimate appeal in matters of doctrine. 

It is true that they sometimes differ in modes of 
interpretation, and draw sometimes very widely differ- 
ing conclusions, but with all of this they refer to the 
Sacred Oracles as containing all things necessary to 
salvation. 

The Bible is read in their assemblies, and their miCm- 
bers are encouraged and urged to study it as containing 
the revelation vrhich God has made to man. 

4th. They also agree in tlie insrparahleness o f religion 
and moral it)/. They not only set forth doctrines to be 
believed, but duties to be done. The duties grow out 
of the doctrines. They do not encourage the holding 
of religion as a mere theory. Eeligion must become in- 
corporated with the life, and show itself in holy deeds. 
To be a Christian is to be upright and true, generous 
and kindly. If a man's life does not give evidence of 
his faith, that faith is defective or erroiieous. 

5th. They still further insist that it is the duty of each 
believer to extend a J:no>rledge of tlte gospel to ot Iters. It 
is not to be seltishly enjoyed or hidden, but communi- 
cated. Hence the constant exhortations to personal 
service for others, and hence, also, tlie zeal for mis- 
sionary work vrliicli leads to the rolling up of vast sums 
of money for the propagation of the Christian faith. 



rONCERNINO Tins EPISCOPAL CIIURCII. 



39 



This zeal for ihe extension oi religions privileges to 
others is ojie of the most noteworthy characteristics of 
the Christian spirit of our clay. It is not always a de- 
sire for mere deiioniin_ational snpremacy, but a sincere 
aim to benefit their fellow-men by giving them that 
which is more precious than all gifts, the gospel of 
Christ. Deep down beneath everything else is the con- 
viction that men are vvretched without the knowledge 
of Christ, and His disciples v\^ould therefore have all 
men know their Lord, from the least to the greatest. 

6th. They resemble each other also in the fertiJitij of 
tlieir ex'pedients for reaching all sorts and conditlo}is cf 
men. "Whatever may have been the case in the past, 
we see now the most varied labors to reach the igno- 
rant, the poor, and the degraded. Every large com- 
munity is penetrated by eiiorts which look to the relief 
of suffering of all kinds, and to bring the outcasts to 
Him who alone has healing for their distresses. The 
mission chapel, the school for the ignorant, the friendly 
visitor to the poor, the society for providing help and 
reclaiming the fallen — all these and ma,ny more like 
efforts are features of our modern Christianity^ In this 
blessed work all these bodies a.re doing some part. 

It is not that their efforts are always precisely alike, 
but there is the exercise of sanctified ingenuity and 
there is the consecration of varied talents, so that in 
some way those who have strayed, or are straying, from 
the Father's house may be brought back. 

There are still other points of agreement, which, how- 
ever, need not be touched upon now. Enough has 
been indicated to show the necessity for kindly and 
courteous treatment on both sides, and especially when 
points of difference are brought forth for considera- 
tion, 



40 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



X. 

The Relationship of the Episcopal Church to 
other Religious Bodies. 

The position of the Episcopal Church toward other 
"bodies of Christian people is not always understood, 
and is sometimes incorrectly represented. It is thought 
loj some to be entirely unsympathetic, if not antago- 
nistic. This view arises from the fact that ministers 
of other religious "bodies not Episcopally ordained are 
not permitted to preach in our pulpits or to administer 
the Sacraments in our churches ; and also from the other 
fact that but little official intercourse is held with these 
organizations as such. It is not easy for some to see 
that anything but positive antagonism can be the mo- 
tive for what apjDcars to them to be unchristian excln- 
siveness and arrogance. In order to understand the 
position of this Church, it is necessary to look back a 
little over the history of the past. As we do so we find 
that there was a time when there were no organizations 
corresx^onding to the modern non-Episcopal bodies. 
The Church, v^herever it existed, had an Episcopal 
government, that is, a government by Bishops, and 
Episcopacy can be traced to the earliest Christian ages. 

It has been only in comparatively modern times that 
any organization without the Episcopate made any 
claim to be called a Church. The Congregationalists, 
originally called Independents, began as a body about 
1580 ; the Baptists, originally Anabaptists, in Germany 
in 1523, and in England in 1G08; the Presbyterians 
about 1520 on the Continent of Europe, and in England 
in 1649 ; the Methodists in England in 1739, and others 
still later. 

No one claims an earlier origin for these bodies than 



CONCERNlXa TilE EPISCOPAL (niURCH. 



41 



the dates here given, and it is difficult for any one to 
show that in any of the preceding centuries any Churcli 
was organized without the Episcopal form of govern- 
ment. In addition to the modern origin of these non- 
Episcopal bodies, consider that there are now over two 
hundred and sixty millions of Christians in the world 
to-day, and that two hundred and thirty millions of these 
still cling to Episcopacy. 

If, then, there is reason to believe that Episcopacy 
was the primitive form of Church government, and if 
so large a proportion of Christians still retain it, we 
have no need to apologize for it as one of the features 
of this Church. This Chm-ch retains it, and in the 
Preface to the Ordination Services, says : 

"It is evident to all men, diligently reading Holy 
Scripture and ancient authors, that from the Apostles' 
time there have been these orders of ministers in 
Christ's Church, — Bishops, Priests, and Deacons." 

"No man shall be accounted or taken to be a lawful 
Bishop, Priest, or Deacon in this Church, or permitted 
to exercise any of said functions, except he be called, 
tried, examined, and admitted thereto, according to the 
form which she has prescribed, or hath had Episcopal 
consecration or ordination." 

Observe that this legislation applies to this Church. 
There is no judgment expressed as to the validity of 
any other kind of ministry, nor is there any attempt 
to force this apostolic ministry upon other bodies of 
Christians. They must satisfy themselves as to what 
authority their ministry has. In this Church we know 
nothing but an apostolic ministry, nor can we give it up. 

The position of this Church, then, toward other re- 
ligious bodies is marled h}j fne utmost Christian courtesij. 
There are no denunciations of those who, it believes. 



42 



A MANUAL OF JNFOKMATION 



have departed from vv^liat, at least, was a very ancient 
and important feature of the Chnrcli. It does not in- 
trude itself upon them, but protects itself by such re- 
strictions as are necessary to preserve the ancient order, 
and to invite an examination of its claims. 

In speaking of these bodies in the Preface to the 
Prayer Book, it exhibits this courteous spirit by re- 
ferring to ^'the different religious denominations of 
Christians in these States'^ being left at libert}^ by 
the issue of the American Eevolution ^^to model and 
organize their respective Churches," etc. It uses the 
Vv^ord "Churches" without, hovrever, invpdidating its 
own claims to be a branch of the historic Church, and 
later on defines what is essential to the integrity of 
this Church, as a branch of the historic Church. 

The courteous and comprehensive spirit of this 
Church is seen again in its rcc<yj)rition of all properJij 
h(tr)ti7C(l 2}C}\'^0)iS as hciiuj alrcadij in the vwnihersltij) of 
tJiC CJiristUdi Chtirch. It does not rebaptize them if 
they have once been baptized with water in the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Ploly Ghost. 
Where there is doubt as to their having been baptized 
it uses the hypothetical form, "If thou hast not already 
been baptized, I baptize thee," etc. 

This ^yide recognition of the membership of all 
baptized persons in the body of Christ is one of the 
~nost liberal of all possible liberal features. By what- 
ever name men. may call themselves, if they have been 
baptized with water in the name of the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Ghost, it recognizes them as already 
members of the Christian Church. It recognizes them 
as fellow-members witli us of Clirist's body, whatever 
we may tliink of tlie organizations with which they may 
please to ally themselves. 



CONCEKXIXr, THE EI'IsrOPAT, OHUROH. 



43 



Still further, this Church is coiitiuually pynyi^il Joy 
all Chyist'uDis hij irJuftcrcy uanic they may call tlicnisclvcs. 
In one of its daily prayers it thus pleads: ^^Espe- 
cially we pray for Thy holy Church universal, that it 
may be so guided and governed by Thy good spirit, 
that all vvdio profess and call themselves Christians 
may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in 
unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteous- 
ness of life." In the Communion Service it prays God 
" To inspire continually the universal Church with the 
spirit of truthj unity, and concord, that all who profess 
Thy holy name may live in unity a.nd godly love." In 
still another prayer: Grant that all Christians may 
be so joined together in unity of spirit, and. in the bond 
of peace, that they may be an holy temple acceptable 
unto Thee." 

And, finally, this Church stands foremost in its dcsiyes 
for Christian unity, and in its efforts to promote the 
same. 

At the General Convention in Chicago, 1886, its Bish- 
ops set forth the following propositions as alone essen- 
tial to the union of Christendom : 

I. The Holy Scriptures as the revealed word of G'od. 

II. The Nieene Creed as the sufficient statement of 
the Christian faith. 

III. The two Sacraments — Baptism and the Supper 
of the Lord — ministered wuth tlie unfailing use of 
Christ's words of institution, and of the elements or- 
dained by Him. 

IV. The Historic Episcopate locally adaiDted in the 
methods of its administration to the varying needs of 
the nations and peoples called of God into the unity of 
His Church. 

*^The liberality of these propositions wall appear 



44 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



when we consider that the rites, customs, fasts, and 
festivals, associated with the long use of the Praj^er 
Book, all of them very dear to churchmen, are not even 
mentioned as essential to Church union. What de- 
nomination has shown half the willingness to ignore 
things precious to them for the sake of a united Christen- 
dom? " 

It will not do, then, to accuse this Church of arro- 
gance and of imchristian exclusiveness. In defendiug 
a most important principle it does it with admirable 
dignity and kindliness. Believing Episcopacy to be one 
of the valuable things transmitted to us from the prinii- 
tive Church, and believing it to be not only sanctioned 
by early usage, but having its warrant in the Scriptures 
themselves, it cannot give it up. 

It has no more right to relinquish Episcopacy than it 
has to give up the Apostles' Creed, or the observance of 
the Lord's Bay, or the use of tlie tAvo Sacraments. 

The Christian faith, the Ai)Ostolic order, and Chris- 
tian usages are to be transmitted from generation to 
generation. They are not the property of one genera- 
tion, nor have we the right to deprive men of them 
who live after us. 

If the Episcopate were not something valuable, it 
might easily be given up, but it is of inestimable value. 
It is not to be thought of as an ornamental office, or 
as a mere accidental appendage to the Christian Church, 
but as one of the things which secure the integrity of 
the Chm'ch and the soundness of the Christian faith. 
Beside this, instead of attacking it because of its asso- 
ciation with the state as in England to-day, the office 
of a Bishop brings the Church into direct relations with 
the people. The Bishop is the people's pastor. If a 
communicant believe himself wronged by a rector, he 



CONCEKNIXG THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



45 



can appeal to his Bishop. The Bishop, at some time or 
other, comes into contact with all the members of his 
diocese. He lays his hands npon them in confirmation, 
he visits their parishes to superintend their interests, 
he is a leader in aggressive Vv^ork, and the helper of 
those who seek his counsel and direction. 

XI. 

Is the Episcopal Church in Sympathy with the 
Present Age, 

The present age is remarkahle for the progress which 
has "been made in all departments of knowledge, and 
especially for an enlarged acquaintance Vvdth the forces 
of nature. Along vdth this there have been changes in 
the religious beliefs of some. Yievrs which were once 
held have been given up, and questions which were 
once deemed settled Iiave been reopened. In the midst 
of all this agitation in modern thought this Oiureh goes 
on teaching men tlie principles of the faith wliicli have 
been in its pOHS';ssion all along, and declines to cliauge 
those principles to tit in with so-called modern progress. 

To some this conservative position is an cAndence 
that this Church is out of sympathy with the present 
age, and that it is an antiquated relic of the past. 

It is well, then, to understand what the Clnu'ch's 
position really is, and hovr it stands related to the 
movement of the thought of the time. 

In the first place, this Church believes it has a Divine 
origin and a Divine mission. It was not founded the 
will of men, nor is its work to be confined to one age or 
to one class of persons. It is a branch of the Church 
of Christ, for all time and for all people. No authority 
has been given it to change its fundamental principles, 



46 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



nor to omit any part of tlie original deposit of truth. 
It is wliat it is "because established by the Lord Him- 
self. The truths it has to convey to men it received 
from Him. 

If it had been originated by men, then changes were 
easy indeed, but it believes itself to be the Church of 
Christ, founded by Him, and that it has a message to 
all men wherever they are, a message from the Lord, 
even the gospel of salvation. 

This is a most important starting-point in the study 
of the Church's attitude toward the age. It is not a 
creation of this age. Its origin runs back to the hrst 
Christian century. It is not a society of human con- 
triving and shaping, but one that came into being by 
Divine authority. It is not something subject to the 
will of man, for it must always serve the purpose for 
which it was founded. It is to last after this age lias 
passed away. 

2d. This Church believes that nothing ever has 
affected, and iiot/rnuj ever rcill ajjcct tlic foundations of 
the Cliristlan faith. It did not derive its principles from 
a book, iior were they the product of a council. It did 
not find them in the dim traditions of preceding ages, 
nor were they the dreams and visioiis of enthusiasts. 

One Vvdio called himself the Son of Man once lived 
upon the earth and tauglit men. He met a tragic end, 
bat overcame death. From Him men called Apostles 
derived a system of truth, and around Him as a center 
cluster a series of facts. Facts cannot change. Truth 
based upon the God of truth can never be antiquated. 
It matters not, theu, what may be the drift of human 
opinion in any age. All that men may think and say 
cannot alter a single fact or change one truth. 

If in the x^^'^^^gi'^ss of unbelief the resurrection of 



CONCEKNINO TILE EPISCOPAL t'liUKCII. 



47 



Christ should be denied, and then His miracles, and 
next His birth of the Virgin, and, finally, Plis existence, 
it would not shake the Church's confidence ; for the very 
fact that the Church exists at all is a witness to the 
resurrection of Christ, and His resurrection implies His 
mighty power and the uniqueness of His origin. 

It is futile for men to deny the existence of a fountain 
if you can follow the course of the stream up along 
all its windings until you reach the point whence the 
waters issue forth. As truly as there is a Church to- 
day, that truly was there a Christ with whom the Chm-ch 
began. 

3d. The Church still further believes that the trutlis 
which it teas commissioned to teach find a respo^ise in the 
sold of man. The gospel of Christ is fitted for man, and 
man's nature is so constituted that its principles find a 
lodgment in the very depths of that nature. 

We are not delivering some fanciful system that does 
violence to man's reason and conscience, and requires 
some distortion of his soul to accept it. On the con- 
trary, the gospel and man are fitted to each other. F( r 
example : if Christianity speak of the condemnation cf 
sin, man's sense of justice indorses vdiat it says. 12 
it tell of pardon gained for the sinner through the efforts 
of a Divine Friend, it responds gratefully to this exhibi- 
tion of unselfish love. If it demand a life of obedience 
to the laws of God, there is something that admits the 
justice of the demand. 

The Church cannot think the age will ever sweep 
so far along, and the nature of man be so radically 
changed, that it can no longer respond to the gospel. 

Thus believing its origin to be Divine, that it has a 
Divine message to men, that it rests upon a firm foun- 
dation, and that in all stages of man's progress the rem- 



48 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



edy for human woes and tlie inspiration of human hopes 
is the gospel, the Church is not shaken by denials, nor 
can it change its faith to suit men's fancies. It ever 
presses onward, telling to all men alike the message it 
has ever been telling, viz., that tliere is a God, that He 
demands the homage and service of men, and that ^^He 
hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world 
by that man v»^hom He hath ordained, whereof He hath 
given assurance imto all men in that He hath raised 
Him from the dead." 

Its position is that man is a religious being, that he 
has capacities for religion, and has needs that can only 
be supplied by religion. It claims that the priiicij^les 
of religion have been clearly revealed through the in- 
carnation of the Son of God, and that, do what he will, 
uo man can divest himself of responsibility toward the 
great Being who made him, and who has provided a 
way in which his highest capabilities may be developed 
and his highest happiness may be secured. 

The Church makes- no effort to stifle investigation, 
utters no anathemas against those who would examine 
the bases upon which faith rests, X3uts no obstacles in 
the way of searching for honest truth, and has no mys- 
teries which it would hide. 

The Church is not responsible for any man-made 
systems of theology, nor for the brood of wrong views 
which sectarianism has produced. It is the witness 
and the keeper of the truth, not the patron or the 
sponsor of the vagaries of men as they have reasoned 
and dreamed over the facts of religion. 

The Church, tlien, is in sympathy with all that per- 
tains to man's best interescs. It comes to man as the 
friend who brings consolation in sorrow, stimulus for 
his aspirations after goodness, instruction as to attain- 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



49 



ing greatest manliness and the fruition of his highest 
hopes. 

It mnst not he tlionght out of sympathy with the 
present age because it does not relinquish the truth of 
which it is the keeper. It shows its l3enetieent char- 
acter best by the very hrmness with which it holds to 
what has been delivered to it. 

XII. 

The Difference between Individual Opinions and 
the Teachings of the Church. 

The distinction is not always made betw^een what 
this Church clearly and positively teaches, and what 
individuals or parties may claim to be the teachings of 
the Church. Men have occasionally advanced startling 
positions, and parties have set forth views which have 
provoked questioning. 

If it were clearly understood that they simply ex- 
pressed their ov/n judgments upon these questions at 
issue, there could be no objection ; but there has been 
too great a readiness to claim for mere opinions. 

These are the teachings of the Church." 

It may be that the Church has never made any posi- 
tive deliverance upon the subject at all in its collective 
capacity. More frequently, perhaps, v/here there is no 
direct claim by men to speak with authority, the utter- 
ances made have been accej)ted by those wdio heard 
them as setting forth what the Church teaches. But 
the fact alvv^ays rem.ains that the Church is larger than 
any individual in it, and larger than all the parties in 
it. Hence it is unfair to commit this great, generous 
Church to any narrov/, erratic, and imperfect views 
which men or parties may from time to time put forth. 



50 



A MA:7UAL of IXFOKMATION 



No authority is given any one to, stand before the 
yrorki as the Church's infallible representative. Each 
individual can represent only what he can conceive of 
the truth. Each party represents only one phase of 
the truth. 

For exa,mple, there are at least three theories as to 
the mode of the resurrection of the body. The Church, 
in its collective capacity, has never declared in favor of 
any one of the three theories to the exclusion of the 
other two. A man can hold terjaciously to any one of 
the three tliat commends itseli to his best judgment, 
but he must not say that this, and only thi-s view, is the 
teaching of the Church. As another example, take the 
question of inspiration. There have been many dis- 
cussions as to the exact nature of the inspiration of 
holy men of old who wrote the Sacred Scriptures, and 
hence we have theories labeled ^' verbal,^' "plenary," 
"directional,'' " suggestional," guidance," and so on. 

There is no objection to one man's believing, say, in 
verbal inspiration, but he must not fault the other man 
Avho believes in what he calls dircctioiuil inspiration. 

The Church sets forth no tlieory of inspiration, but 
simply declares that Holy Scripture contains all doc- 
trine necessary for eternal salvation through faith in 
Jesus Christ. 

These examples vrill illustrate what is m.eant by the 
im]3ropriety of pressing any viev>^ as the only allowable 
view. Even if a majority of people at a given time hold 
a particular view, that does not make it a binding otS- 
cial decision of this Church, for majorities change. Be- 
fore anything can be pressed upon the conscience of 
another as important for him to accept because it is 
part of the Churcli's teaching, it must have been for- 
mally decided by authoritative action of the Church, 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 51 



Where no such action can be cited, the view pressed 
has vahie as an opinion and not as a Chnrch doctrine. 

This is a very simple matter when put in this shape, 
but however simph?, it is often forgotten, and then 
comes the blunder referred to, of holding the Church 
responsible for narrow or erratic utterances. 

It is one of the admirable features of the Episcopal 
Church that while it insists upon every one's accepting 
the essentials of the Christian faith, it allows great lati- 
tude of opinion upon non-essentials. There is no effort 
to enforce absolute uniformity where there may be 
allowable differences of view. It is this feature which 
is so surprising to the stranger, and Vv^hich he m.ust 
understand before he can realize w^hat an advantage 
this is when compared with the dominion Vvdiich in 
somiO other bodies is exercised over the most minute 
details of their members' religious faith and practice. 
This dominion in some cases extends even to dress and 
ornamtat, and includes such inquisitorial examinations 
as to be most repugnant to generous minds. It must 
be a blessed relief to escape the bondage of this part of 
the sect spirit, and to com.e into the larger liberty of 
this Church. 

Then, again, the stranger accustomed to the indi- 
vidualism v\'hich malvcs the vievrs of a majority in a 
sect to-day the views of the sect itself, no matter what 
they may have been at any previous time, has to under- 
stand that this Clinrcli can make no changes in its es- 
sadiaJ principJcs. 

They are closed questions. They cannot be altered 
by vote or expunged by majorities. 

There is nothing to prevent the change next year of 
wliat some religious bodies deem cpiite essential to-day, 
if sentiment should change. If the majority desire to 



52 



A MANUAL OF IXFORMATTON 



omit it, or to modify it, there is nothing to prevent their 
doing it. The strong influence of a few leading minds 
may give color to all the teaching among them. 

There is no room in this Church for such influence. 
Some things are regarded as unalterably settled. We 
cannot go on making or altering doctrines. Yv^e have 
the faith which was once delivered to the saints. We 
are to keep it intact, and to transm.it it to posterit}^ as 
it came to us. 

The stranger will not find, then, that this Church is 
drifting here and there as individuals or as a majority 
will it to go. 

Still further, the stranger discovers that men iiiai/ he 
loyal to the Cli nycu even icliUe tJiey differ among tlioascJre.s 
as to noil -(■:<s< 111 laJ matters. 

Loyalty i< not tlie distinguisliing trait of only one 
school of thought among us. It is sliared alike by all. 
In the hoiit oi discussion, or when a vote has gone 
agaijist nuui, they may be disposed to question the 
loyalty of tlicir opponents, but tlici'o pervades the great 
body of our ( Imrcli-tollv in this country such a stroiig 
affection for their Ciiurch nnd sucli a firm attachmejit 
to its principles th?>t tliey st-ind true to it, come wliat 
may. It is very rarely T;i:;t t]-('i<^ is any defection. 
Now and t]i(>n some one ^vlio ]i;is ])ee]L njisled by the 
erroneous claims of I^>manisni, or auotlier who has 
drifted a^vay from safe mooriiigs, leaves tlie ranks of this 
Church, luit the number is very small. I\Iany hundreds 
come, while but a fe^s' go. 

This loyal feeliiig among Churchmen is becoming 
stronger as they uiiderstand their ovni Church the bet- 
ter, and as they realize tliat it is a branch of the Church 
of Christ and not a mere voluntary association of Cliris- 
tians. 



CONCERNING TUE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



53 



XIII. 

Schools of Thought in the Episcopal Church. 

Nothing perplexes the stranger more than the effort 
to ^jnclerstaiid the exact views of parties in this Church. 
He is perplexed because schools of thought have modi- 
fied their peculiarities from time to time. 

What would be a true description of a party 8.t one 
time would not be true at another. Some outward 
marks that were once indications of party affiliations 
have ceased to mean anything partisan. What makes 
it still more perplexing for the stranger is to find that 
the majority of peoi3le in this Church do not fit into any 
party divisions, and that the majority care very little 
for mere partisan questions. 

A spirit of common loyalty to the Church pervades 
the great bulk of our people, and it matters very little 
to most of them what are the party preferences of any 
one. This is emphatically a tolerant Church. So long 
as men hold fast to the essentials of the faith as con- 
tained in the Creeds, they are at liberty to entertain 
differing views upon non-essential points. Here, if 
anywhere, the old m^otto holds good : In essentials 
unity; in non-essentials liberty; in all things charity.'' 
There is no attempt at compressing all into one mold. 
No one is compelled to belong to any faction, or to take 
up the dicta of other men. 

The consideration of religious questions in tlie past 
in the Church of England gave rise to four principal 
schools of thought, which have become popularly known 
as '^High Church,'^ ^^Low Church," Broad Church," 
a^nd '^Ritualists." Sometimes with reference to certain 
favorite views High Churchmen are called Sacramen- 
tarian " and Lov/ Churchmen Evangelical." 



54 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



The questions wliicli have given rise to these schools 
of thought are such as these : the origin and the pov/ers 
of the Ministry ; tlie efficacy of the Sacraments ; the 
adornment of the services ; the meaning of words and 
phrases in the Prayer Book ; and the relationship of 
this Church to other religious bodies. 

There may "be honest differences of opinion upon 
these and such-like suhjeets while at the same time the 
most entire loyalty to the Church. 

Definitions of these parties are given by Blunt in his 

Dictionary of Parties as follows : 

High Churchmen exalt the authority of the Church 
as being derived from Christ and His Apostles, and give 
prominence to the sacerdotal aspect of the ministerial 
office.^' 

^^Low Churchmen regard the Ministry and Sacra- 
ments iDrincipally in their relation to mankind." 

Broad Churchmen dissent from the principles de- 
veloped during the revival of exact theological learn- 
ing. They reject traditional beliefs." 

" Ritualists arose when theological learning and an 
intelligent spirit of devotion were combining to raise a 
general feeling that there should be more recognition 
of the fact that Prayer, Praise, and the Holy Eucharist 
are offered to God as v/ell as used for the spiritual ad- 
vantage of man." 

Blunt's own views incline him, in his articles, to a 
•much more favorable estimate of High Churchmanship 
and of Ritualism than of Low Churchmanship and 
Broad Churchism. 

But partisanship bias is shown in the case of those 
who have written upon the other side. Rarely are the 
views of opponents given their full value^ if, indeed, 
they are even fair! 3^ represented. 



CO^'CEENING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



55 



Perhaps tlie mental attitude wiiieli partisanship re- 
quires unfits a man for understanding a position that 
does not accord with his own. 

It is also true that there is rarely any such thing as a 
clearly cut and. vrell-dehned system of vievrs and prac- 
tices that must always bear one distinctive party name, 
for, as before remarked, matters w^hich at one time were 
thought to belong to such and such a XJarty in time 
became common to other parties. For example, the 
weekly eucharist has been regarded by some as one of 
the marks of High Churchmanship, and yet some of 
those w^ho were founders of the Low Church jiarty were 
advocates of this usage, and some Lovf Churchmen of 
to-day believe very strongly in the projjriety of a cele- 
bration every Lord's Day. 

And so by some a vested choir and a choral ser^uce 
have been regarded as evidences of Eitualism, but such 
a choir to-day, and such a scrvi e, give no clue what- 
ever to the churchmanship of the i3arish. 

The popular impressions concerning parties in the 
Episcopal Church are usually very superticial. If it is 
hard for people who have grovrn up in the Church to 
give accurate definitions and descriptions of parties, 
hovr is it X30ssible for those who know^ very little about 
the origin and history of the controversies to form cor- 
rect vievrs ? 

There is always, however, great readiness on the 
part of many to coin and to apply descriptive phrases 
wdthout studying wdiether they are just and correct. 
Thus, it has been thought by some that ''High Chm^ch- 
men" vrere those wdio believed that no one could be 
saved unless he is a member of the Episcopal Church. 
The absurdity of such a representation makes no an- 
swer necessary. It is only cited here as a view at- 



56 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



tribiited to this party "by persons who do not know of 
what they are speaking. 

It is sometimes hastily declared that Low Churchmen 
are they who do not believe in the Apostolic origin of 
this Church, whereas some strong defenses of this ^dew 
originate with members of that school. Thus says one : 

AVe are not Low Chnrchmen because we have a low 
estimate of our Church and its ordinances. We hold to 
its doctrines and usages ydth sincere conviction and 
ardent attachment. We find Episcopacy in the Script- 
ures and in all Christian History." 

It is also said that the tendency of all the so-called 
Broad Church moA'ement is toward the denial of our 
Lord's true divinity, and to a disbelief in the future 
punishment of those vrho die in sin ; but this is strongly 
repudiated by Broad Churchmen. Many of them claim 
that in getting away from some materialistic representa- 
tions of future judgment they liave emphasized more 
strongly the doctrine of retribution^ and that in looking 
more closely at the human side of our Lord's nature 
they do not lose faith in the divine side. 

It will be seen from the illustrations now given how 
diflicult it is to gather the exact views of parties unless 
resort is had to acknowledged representatives of those 
parties, and even then their testimony is valuable 
simply as to what they themselves believe and not 
as to what their oppoiients are thought by them to 
hold. 

It must not be supposed by any one that partisanship 
is pecidiar to the Episcopal Church. There are differ- 
ing schools of thought in all religious b/odies, even in 
the Roman Catholic- Cliuruli, wiiich is popularly stip- 
posed to be all of erne mind. There have been times 
when tierce controversies raged among our ftompvU 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



57 



brethren, and there are diversities of view now upon 
many an important question. Differing schools of 
thought, too, have existed in the Christian Church in all 
the ages. As men have thought deeply upon religious 
questions, they have felt deeply, and have naturally 
affiliated with those who looked at questions from a 
similar standpoint. 

Parties among us have served their good purposes, 
but they may also do harm. If partisanship alienate 
brethren, if it make men more zealous for the success 
of favorite views than for the spread of Christ's religion, 
if it hinder their seeing what is good in the vievrs and 
practices of others — then it is injurious. 

It is an interesting fact that so large a number of the 
members of this Church are not influenced to any in- 
jurious degree by the party spirit. They may take 
sides when disputed points are discussed, and there 
may be occasions when preferences are expressed de- 
cidedly, by votes and in other vvays, but ordinarily they 
are uninfluenced by party movements. Nor is it neces- 
sary for strangers coming among us to ally themselves 
with parties. Each one has in him certain tendencies 
of thought and feeling vvhich may incline him in one 
direction and another, and each one's future studies 
may also influence his affiliations. Larger acquaintance 
with the history of controversies in the past will shov/ 
how each of the parties in the Church has had its mis- 
sion in bringing out and in preserving the truth in its 
fullness and roundness. Thus Low Churchmen have 
kept before us the need of experimental piety, the rela- 
tionship of the individual to the Saviour, and the work 
of the Holy Ghost in personal character. 

High Churchmen have kept in view the privileges of 
believers in their corporate membership in the body of 



58 



A. MANUAL OF IXTt )1;^:ATI0N 



Christ, the Church, and the need of usiiig the ehaiinels 
of grace whieli the Lord has appointed. 

Broad Churchmen ha^ve helped soften harsh ways of 
presenting some of the points of the orthodox faith, 
and have called attention to the comprehensive sj)irit 
of Christ's religion. 

The Eitualists have added to the "beauty of worship, 
and have taught us our duty to the poor and the neg- 
lected classes. 

There may always be parties among us, but it must 
never be forgotten that the Church is ever broader and 
more generous than party, and that loyalty to the 
Church is consistent with the toleration of varying 
views. 

XIV. 

"Words and Phrases not alwaj^s Understood. 

Many words and phrases which are used in the serv- 
ices of this Church are not always understood by 
strangers, and sometimes are not clearly comprehended 
by some of our own people, especially l:>y those who 
have not had the advantage of careful instruction. 

The result is the loss of a great deal of religious 
profit, and tlie growth of some prejudices and per- 
plexities. 

It is worth any one's while to give a little attention 
to these matters. There is not'ning that is very hard to 
understand. Almost any one can master all tliese ditu- 
culties of expression, and become an intelligent partici- 
X)ant in the public^ervices of the Church. 

NYoRDS USED IX THE Creed. — Three words in the 
Apostles' Creed are frequently misunderstood : they are 
//(?//, catJioJic, and quick. 

It is declared in the Creed that our Lord descended 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



59 



into hell. The popular use of the word as the place of 
eternal punishment perplexes some when they find it 
used in the Creed. Onr Lord said to the dying thief 
upon the cross, To-<luy thou shalt be with Me in para- 
dise.'' How then in hell ? The explanation is that the 
word ^^liell" in the Creed means the place of departed 
spirits, the xjlace where the souls of th.e dead go after 
the death of the body. The doctrine of Scripture is 
tliat when men die their souls pass into the intermedi- 
ate state where they await the fmal resurrection of the 
body. Paradise is the place of the blessed in this inter- 
mediate state, and heaven is the place of the blessed 
after soul and hody are reunited. 

The word catliollc is also perplexing to some because 
they confound it with Eoman Catholic. It means uni- 
versal, for all time and for all people. The Church 
was not to be for one race or for one age, but for all 
I)eop]e in every age, and so it is catholic. The Eoman 
is but one branch of the Church. It is an error to speak 
of the Eoman branch as The Catholic Church," as if 
none but its members vrcre Catholics. Membership in 
the Catholic Church includes all who are baptized in 
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 
The Holy Catholic Church referred to in the Creed is 
the Church of Christ Vvdierever found. 

The other Vs^ord, quid', means simply ^^the living." 
Our Lord is coming again to judge the living and the 
dead. We know not vdien He comes again, but when 
He comes not only vdll He judge those who had pre- 
viously died, but those who are alive and remain on the 
eartli at His appearing. 

TToRDS IX Psal:ms and Songs. — Tlie Latin titles 
used in tiie Pra^^er Book for tiie Canticles, Psalms, etc., 
perplex persons, partly because the meaning of the 



60 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



words is not understood, and also because they do not 
know why foreign words are used at all. 

These Latin titles are simply the opening words of 
the various compositions over which they stand. They 
mean just what the first tew words in English mean ; 
thus, Voiite is -^Oh, come ; JtibUate Deo is ^^Oh, be 
joyful in the Lord"; and Boniiiii est confiteri, "It is 
good to give thanks." 

You have only to look at the first few English words 
and you have the meaning of the Latin title. 

These titles were retained at the time of the English 
Reformation because they had become familiarly asso- 
ciated with the compositions ; thus, instead of saying, 
^^Let us sing the 114th Psalm," there would be said, 
^^Let us sing In exitu IsracJ.^^ It is precisely v>^hat we 
do now when we speak of hymns, not by their numbers, 
but by their first lines; thus, "Let us sing 'Lead, 
kindly light.' " 

■ Latin titles are retained for all the Psalms and also 
for the Gospel Canticles, so that we have the Gloria 
in Excels is, the Be)) edict us ^ the Magnificat, and the Nunc 
Diniittls. 

The same exi)lanation of the titles applies to these as 
to the Psalms. 

Yv'ORDS IN THE Te Deum. — Yv^hile the general drift 
of this great hymn is easily understood as an offering 
of praise to God because of the redemption of mankind 
through Christ our Lord, there are words here and there 
which require some explanatioi] to make their full sig- 
nificance clear. Thus, who are the seraphim and cher- 
ubim? "Wliat does Sabaotli nu^an f Y\^hat is goodly 
fellowship ? What is the sliaji^ness of death f Yliat is 
Thine heritage ? Yvliat is it to magnify Thee ? Yliat 
is it to be confounded? 



COSCEKNIXG THE EPISCOPAL CHUKCH. 



01 



The questions are answered here in their order. 

1. Tlie cJuTuhii)} and scrapliir.i are heavenly "beings 
uniting in God's praises. The former are referred to 
in Ezek. 1 : 4-14 and Kev. 4 : 6, the hatter in Is. 6 : 2. 
The ehernbim were guardians of the gates of Eden in 
Geu. 3:24. Gohhen figures of the cherubim oversliad- 
owed the merey-seat with tlieir wings, Ex. 37 : 7-9. 
Some have supposed tiiat the cherubim Vv^ere the rep- 
resentatives of wisdoiji and that the seraphim repre- 
sented love. 

2. Sahaotli is the Hebrew word for hosts or armies ; 
hence when we speak of the God of Sabaoth we mean 
that the Lord is the God of great armies or multitudes 
of beings in heaven and earth. 

3. Goodhj fellou'sJiq), Fellowship refers to the union 
of those who agree in spirit and labors, and goodly 
designates the nature of their union and spirit pA.nd 
labors. The prophets composed a succession of people 
whose work was full of goodness inasmuch as they re- 
vealed God's will to men. Now in bliss these faithful 
ones praise him. 

4. SJ/arjyiwss of dcatli retem to the pangs of dissolu- 
tion, and also to all that dissolution means. It is the 
power that death exerts over mankind. Our Lord sub- 
mitted to death : He endured the agony, His spirit left 
His body. He was buried in a tomb. But He overcame 
all the sharpness of death, all its pangs, all its pains, 
all its power. He arose to life again. Death could 
not hold Him. He submitted to death to pay the pen- 
alty for man's transgression, and then became death's 
conqueror. Hence He has taken away the sting of 
death, which is sin, by obe^diig the lav^ and submitting 
to its penalty for us. 

5. Heritage means those gained by inheritaiice. TIiQ 



62 



A MANUAL OF IXFORMATIOX 



refereiiee is to Christians. ^" Thine heritage "' is His 
Church. See 1 St. Peter 5 : 3. The thought is that the 
Son of God has come into possession of a people whom 
we pray Him to l)less. 

6. Magnify is to exalt. Here the exyjression refers 
to the gro^i^h of appreciation of Christ. We make Him 
greater and greater in our esteem. Read here St. Luke 
1:46. 

7. Confounded means ashamed or put to confusion, 
disappointed, cast doT^m. V^e pray that, trusting in 
God, we may never be ashamed of having turned from 
all others to Him, that He will not fail us. The thought 
can be grasped more fully after reading Is. 49 : 23 and 
28 : 16. 

Words ix the Litaxy. — There is nothing particu- 
larly hard to understand in the Litany, especially if 
one have any accpiaintance with the language of the 
Scriptures. 

The following are most likely to need explanation : 

Father of Heaven is the same as Heavenly Father. 
It implies majesty, greatness, glory. 

Offences of our forefathers refers to the terrible fact 
that the elfects of the sins of ancestors are transmitted 
to their descendants. If, however, the descendants 
turn away from the sins of the forefathers, they escape 
the moral guilt. 

Mischief is stronger than in our ordinary use of the 
word, and refers to harm that may come to us. 

Blindness of heart, ignorance of our condition as sin- 
ners. 

Vainglorij, self-conceit, or any like unsubstantial ex- 
ultation. 

Hypocrisii, pretending to be something in religion 
that one is not. 



CONr'KRNINO TTTF, EPTSrOPAT, CHURCH. 



63 



Inordinate ajjrcfiojis, siieli ;is go licyoiid proper l;)oimds, 
and approach to idolatry. 

From sudden death, such a deatli as finds one unpre- 
pared for it, either to meet God, or to settle one's affairs 
here. 

Sedition, opposition to the laws of the land. 

Privy conspiracfj, secret plotting against the govern- 
ment or its officers. 

EeheJlion, open defiance of the government. 

False doctrine, any teaching that is contrary to the 
Scriptures, as the Church receives the same. 

Heresy, willful teaching contrary to the truths of our 
religion. 

Schism, cutting ourselves off from the Church of 
Christ to found a sect to carry out our own notions. 

Contempt of Thy Word and Commandments, despising 
the teachings and requirements of God. 

Incarnation, the taking our nature upon Him by the 
Son of God, the greatest fact in history*. 

Passion, an old word for suffering. 

Klnminale, to enlighten by the Holy Spirit. See 
Eph. 5 : 18. 

Kindly fruits, fruits after their kind, in proper order 
and quantity, in their season and such as Ave need. 

Other Words that need Explaxatiox.* — Advent, 
coming, refers usually to our Sa^viour's first coming 
to be our Saviour and His second coming to be our 
Judge. The Advent season commemorates these two 
facts. 

Amen, a Hebrew word, used at the end of our prayers 
and hymns. It means " So be it," and that is equiva- 
lent to our giving our assent. AVhen we say Amen w^e 
mean that these are our feelings or our wishes. 

Epiphany, manifestation, used in commemorating our 



64 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



Saviour's maniiestation as the Light of the world, es- 
pecially to the Gentiles. 

Gospel, glad tidings J refers to the message of salvation 
through Christ, and to the hooks in which that message 
is recorded. 

SaUeluJaJi, the Hebrew word for Praise the Lord" ; 
sometimes it is ^^Alleluia." 

Inspiration, the inHuenee of the Holy Spirit upon the 
prophets and apostles, and the writers of the Scriptures. 

Litiirgu, the form for the Communion Service, but the 
word applies to all forms of public prayer, 

Messiah is the Hebrew form of the Greek word Christ, 
and means The Anointed One. 

Oblation^ something offered to God, as the bread and 
wine in the Communion. 

Resurrection, a rising again. A spiritual body is to 
be given when the dead shall be raised. This mortal 
shall become immortal, and we shall be changed. 

XV. 

Laws, Usages, and Discipline. 

Although there are differences of detail, the usual 
order is first the establishment of a Mission of this 
Church, and then the organization of a Parish. 

The Mission is the gathering of the people of a given 
place witli Vvdiom the clergyman begins his ministra- 
tions. 

The Parish is usually formed when the j\Iission has 
grown in strengtli, althougli in some places the parisli 
may be organized at once. 

Provision is made in the lavv^s of some States for the 
incorporation of parishes, so that they may be protected 
in the holding of property and for other purposes. 



OONCERNlNa THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



65 



The Vcstvjf of the Parish consists of the Rector, two 
Wardens, and the number of Vestrymen agreed upon, 
together usually with the Parish Clerk and Treasurer. 
The Vestry as a body are the trustees of the church or 
congregation to manage its temporal affairs. The Rec- 
tor, in most parishes, is the presiding otxicer of the 
Vestry. 

The Rector, ^^m. the absence of any exjjress agreement 
to the contrary, is called for life." His connection with 
the parish can be dissolved only by his voluntary res^ 
ignation or his deposition by the Bishop. In case of 
any disagreement betvv^een a Rector and his congrega- 
tion resulting in a desire to dissolve the relationship, it 
is always best to refe;- the matter to the Bishop. This 
is positively required in the case of an instituted min- 
ister, and should be the usage in all cases, for it pre- 
vents those unseemly contests which bring reproach 
upon the Church. 

'^The Rector has the power to refuse the use of the 
church edifice for any purpose inconsistent with the re- 
ligious uses for which it was built, and it is his duty to 
see that it is sacredly and exclusively devoted thereto, 
and kept free from all unhallowed, ordinary, and com- 
mon uses." 

TJie Direction of the Music is committed to the Rector, 
and he is to appoint what is to be sung, and to sup- 
press all light and unseemly music, and all indecency 
and irreverence in the performance by which vain and 
ungodly persons profane the service of the sanctuary. " 

" While the salary and terms of employment of the 
choir belong to the Vestry, the direction of the choir 
belongs to the Rector.'^ As it is an auxiliary to his 
work, it must be under his control. 

The Rector is so to minister the Doctrine and Sacra' 



66 



A MANUAL OF IXFORMATIOIs^ 



meiits and the Discipline of llie Cliureli as tiie Lord 
liatli commanded and as this Chnrch hath received the 
same, according to the commandments of God.^' He 
violates his vows if he teaches false doctrine or neglects 
the spiritual welfare of his people. 

Being thns at the head of the spiritual affairs of the 
congregation, and being held responsible for them, he 
is, of necessity, the director of services and instrnctions 
and of the details of pnblic worsliip. He may seek the 
advice of others and invite suggestions and help, but 
cannot arbitrarily be controlled or be subjected to the 
whims and caprices of factions in his congregation. 
He must be the recognized head of the Parish in spirit- 
ual matters, but of course it is to be expected of him 
that he vdll be wise and kindly in his leadership. He 
is not to rule as if he were infallible, but as one who 
needs divine grace and human sympathy, and who loves 
those whom he would lead in the paths of righteousness 
and peace. 

Pnhlic Worsliip. — The laws of most States protect a 
congregation in the exercise of its right to assemble for 
the worship of God, and punish those who hinder them. 
Such hindrance is sometimes defined as committing 
rude and indecent acts, and making unnecessary noise 
either within the place of meeting or near it. Also ob- 
structing, without authority of iaw^ the approaches to 
the place of meeting. 

Marrlarie. — The Church orders that the require- 
ments of the State laws relating to banns or license, 
in everything that regards the civil contract between 
the parties, shall be observed by the minister. In some 
States no marriage is legal unless a license for the same 
be first gra^nted by the proper ci^^il officer. To secure 
siieh license the parties must be free from the legal im- 



COXCERNIXG THE EPISCOPAL CliURCH. G7 

pediments which are recognized by the law. But be- 
sides this the Church makes demands upon the Minister 
to see to it that there are no other impediments, two of 
the most important being that they are of proper age, 
and that in case of previous divorce the guilty party 
does not contract a second marriage. 

This subject is treated in the chapter on Marriage. 

The general requirement of the civil and ecclesias- 
tical laws relating to marriage is that the clergyman 
should be careful how he unites in irrevocable bonds 
those who come asking him to marry them, and when, 
after due care, the marriage has been solemnized, he 
must record it, and return a report of it to the civil 
authorities, where public records are kept. 

Parish Records. — A well-kept record of Baptisms, 
Marriages, and Burials is so necessary that it is a 
matter of requirement by Church Law. It becomes 
necessary for making up the statistics of the Church 
and showing its progress, and is also helpful sometimes 
for the identification of persons and in the protection 
of their property rights. 

The Fidelity of all Parish Officials. — It ought to be 
considered a high honor to be called to any office in a 
Parish, whether Warden, or Vestryman, Sunday-school 
teacher or chorister, member of a guild or usher. 

The position gives opportunity for advancing the 
prosperity of the parish, and hence for the spread of 
Christ's religion. Whatever the duties, whether many 
or few, they should be attended to with all fidelity. 
Conscience should be carried into them, and all things 
done for the glory of God. A parish served by those 
who are determined to do their duty whatever, position 
they occupy, must become a center of activity and of 
usefulness in the commuiiity in which it is placed. 



08 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



Passing on now from these topics we reach the very 
important subject of Discipline, about which there are 
some very erroneous ^dews held. 

It is a noteworthy fact that while in some religious 
bodies there are frequent trials resulting in the exclu- 
sion of persons from their membership, the Episcopal 
Chm'ch uses the power of excommunication very spar- 
ingly. 

The general feeling is in favor of large charity toward 
offenders, in the hope that they may be won from evil 
li\ang. Besides this, our Lord's own parable of the 
wheat and the tares teaches caution lest in pulling up 
the tares we destroy the wheat also. 

Discipline is often unwisely and harshly administered 
by some Christian bodies. Sometimes supposed erro- 
neous views upon political questions, or on moral re- 
forms, or on non-essential points in theology have sub- 
jected the offenders to trial and penalty. Often thus 
the vote of a majority has fastened a life-long stigma 
upon those whose offenses deserved at the worst an ad- 
monition, and whose reformation needed only a helping 
hand. 

In this Church there are safeguards thrown around 
the exercise of discipline which go far toward prevent- 
ing hasty and injurious judgments. The extreme pen- 
alty of suspension from the communion cannot be 
visited unless the offender be ^^an open and notorious 
evil liver, or have done wrong by word or deed so that 
the congregation is thereby offended." Mere suspicion 
is not a A^alid ground for saspension. The offense must 
be well attested. But even then the judgment of the 
Minister is not final. The excommanicated person has 
the right to an examination of his case by the Bishop, 
for it must always be reported to the Bishop by the 



COXCERXINC. THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



69 



Minister. Tlie person has thus the right to a full re- 
view of the case by his Bishop, who is supposed to be 
entirely impartial. No one is injured by hasty action, 
and no one's case is settled until it reaches a tribunal 
to which the Rector himself must pay regard. 

This Church has but few laws relating to the discipline 
of its lay members. One reason for this is the clergy 
are expected to make their relationship to their parish- 
ioners that of a wise, kind parent, i-ather than that of 
the rigid official. When called upon to rebuke vice, to 
settle quarrels, and to reform the erring, they are to 
attempt this as a good parent would seek the well-being 
of his children. 

Part of the Church's laws for the laity is contained 
in the Eubrics before the Communion Office, and part 
of it in the Canons. 

The offenses noted are : Open and notorious e^dl liv- 
ing, doing wrong to a neighbor, being at variance wdth 
others, and contracting a forbidden marriage. 

A more specific statement of some of the offenses is 
in the Exhortation in the Communion : ^^If any of you 
be a blasphemer of God, an hinderer or slanderer of 
His Word ; an adulterer, or be in malice, or envy, or in 
any other grievous crime, repent ye of your sins or else 
come not to that holy table. 

As this exhortation is seldom read aloud at our serv- 
ices, it may have escaped the notice of some that the 
Church cites as indictable offenses : Blasphemy, hin- 
dering the truth, adultery, malice, envy, and any other 
grievous crimes. 

Equally overlooked is the law relating to forbidden 
marriages. Persons must not marry if there be legal 
impediments, must not seek divorce except for the 
cause of adultery, and the guilty must not remarry. 



70 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



When a person is finally excommunicated we are 
taught by the Thirty-third Article that he is to be re- 
garded as an Heathen and Publican until he be openly 
reconciled by penance and received into the Church by 
a judge that hath authority thereunto." It is hardly to 
be supposed that this requires us to oppress him or to 
ignore him. He is not worthy of confidence until he 
turns from his sin, but we should help him turn away 
from his sin. 

The Church's legislation for the discipline of offend- 
ing Ministers is much more extensive and elaborate 
than in the case of the laity. A considerable portion 
of the Canon Laws is taken up in defining methods of 
procedure against those Ministers who offend by im- 
moral conduct or by teaching erroneous doctrine. The 
penalties vary from admonition to suspension for a 
time, and the extremest form of sentence is deposition 
from the ministry. Happily, the necessity for eccle- 
siastical trials of the clergy seldom arises, but when it 
does the proceedings are conducted in a dignified man- 
ner and with a view of furthering the ends of justice. 

XVI. 

Marriage and the Marriage Service. 

In the English Prayer Book from which our Ameri- 
can service was taken Holy Matrimony is declared to be 
^^an honorable estate, instituted by God in the time of 
man's innocency ; which holy estate Christ adorned 
and beautified with His presence and first miracle that 
He wrought." 

Our own service goes on then to quote St. Paul's tes- 
timony that it is honorable among all men. 

Thus we have three reasons for considering marriage 



COXCEENIKG THE KPTSCOPAL rHCECH. 



71 



more than a mere civil contract between two persons : 
1st. Marriage was instituted by the Lord in Eden. 2d. 
Christ sanctioned marriage. 3d. St. Paul, divinely in- 
spired, declared it honorable. 

The solemn rites which are used by this Chureli in 
joining together two persons in marriage are the strong- 
est protest against the erroneous views and x)ractices of 
many in modern days. 

If the service is studied it will be seen that it dis- 
courages all dandestine marriages. 

The presence of witnesses is assum.ed, and also of 
some one to give the bride away, some representative 
of her family who is supposed to be the guardian of her 
best interests. It forbids, ion, tlie marriane of minors. 
The parties must be of legal age — that is, the man 
twenty-one, the woman eighteen, or according to the 
laws of the State. If either is under age, the explicit 
consent of parents or guardians must bo had. 

This Church forhids tlie marriage of all divorced i^r- 
sons, except the innocent person who has secured a di- 
vorce on the ground of adultery committed by the other. 

The marriage bond is to last until it is dissolved by 
death. In case, however, the man or the woman com- 
mits the aw^ful crime of adultery, they may be divorced. 
The divorce is given in this case to the innocent per- 
son of the two, and he or she can marry again, but the 
guilty one cannot. 

In different States there are various grounds upon 
which married people seek to be divorced, but the 
Church knows of but that one which our Lord stated, 
and consequently forbids his Ministers to marry people 
who have been divorced for such reasons as '^deser- 
tion," ''incompatibility of disposition," or any of the 
many other insufficient causes. 



72 



A MAX (J A L OF INFORMATION 



Furtiiermoie, this Cliurcli expects i)ersoiis to e^iter 
into tills Iwlij estate with a reUgions spirit. They are not 
to come to it lightly or irreverently or without due con- 
sideration. And then the vows they make are sueii"as to 
require the help of religious principles in keeping them. 

The solemnization of marriage by the rites of this 
Church has done much to preserve correct views upon 
the whole subject of marriage. The sanctity of the 
marriage bond which she so insists upon has done much 
to secure the well-being of society. Loose views upon 
the subject of miarriage and a disregard of the sanctity 
of this holy estate lead to most dreadful results, and 
especially to tliat increase of vice whereby peculiar 
sorrow is brought to helpless women and children. 

The service as at present arranged in the Prayer 
Book is made up of tw^o old forms, viz., the betrothal 
and the marriage proper. It was once the custom to 
have a formal betrothal or engagement of the parties 
made in public with certain religious rites. Sometimes 
this was done in the porch or in the nave of the church. 
Now, however, the tw^o services are conjoined, but in 
many churches there is a distinction made by using the 
betrothal in the nave of the church, and the other in 
the chancel before the altar. The betrothal service 
ends \siih. ^^Who giveth this woman to be married to 
this raan ? " 

One of the rubrics before the service directs that the 
service shall be said in the church or in some proper 
house. The church is named first because it is the most 
suitable place. Nearly all marriages can be solemnized 
in the church. The objection sometimes made is the 
dread of crowds and of display, as well as the inability 
to bear the expense. The fact is that a wedding in 
church may be as quiet as one at home, with only those 



CONCJiliXING THE EPISCOPAL CJIUKCII. 



73 



present who are in^ated, and besides this, the utmost 
simplicity may be used and the expense brought within 
the reach of the poorest. A church wedding is not 
necessarily an ostentatious one, but may be even less 
formal than one at home, to say nothing of the added 
solemnity and sacredness of the house of God. 

Some of the impediments referred to in the Exhorta- 
tion to the congregation as the service begins have 
already been explained, but there are other impedi- 
ments vdiieh should be more fully considered before 
men and women rush into rash engagements, such as a 
'too great nearness of blood relationship, and that given 
by St. Paul against being unequally yoked with unbe- 
lievers. 

The questions asked and the pledges made in this 
service constitute a most solemn covenant in the pres- 
ence of the great God, which no caprice or temptations 
or changes of circumstances are to be allovv^ed to break. 
It is to last whether they be rich or poor, whether they 
be sick or well, until death separates them. 

The custom of gi\dng and receiwing a ring is an old 
one, and is highly suggestive, first, of the endless nat- 
ure of the bond, then of its value, and then of the trans- 
fer to the v/ife of an earnest of her future support. 

The Lord's Prayer, which hallows every service, is 
here used without the Doxology at the end, and the 
omission recalls the fact that the Church regards the 
Marriage Ser^nce as one of deepest solemnity. 

The Collect following, while asking help, teaches 
where they may find help to keep their vows. This 
prayer being ended, there follows the significant cere- 
mony of joining their hands by the Minister, Vv'ith the 
challenge that none be so daring as to separate those 
wliom God hath joined together. ^ The contract being 



74 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



reviewed, they are declared in the name of the Trinity 
to be man and wife, and are blessed in that great 
Name. 

There are some suggestions which are always in place 
in any consideration of this topic. They are these : 

1st. The requirements of the laws of the State as to 
taking out a license, or giving notice of intention to 
marry, must all be complied with, and the document 
placed in the clerg^onan's hands before he can perform 
the ceremony. 

2d. It is simply impossible for any clergyman to make 
changes in the Marriage Service as set forth in the 
Prayer Book. He can omit the ceremony of the ring if 
there is no ring to be used, and he can omit the part 
relating to the gi\i.ng the bride away if there is no one 
to give her away, but he cannot alter a word of the 
service or modify a line in the solemn pledges each per- 
son must take. 

3d. It is an old usage not to solemnize marriages in 
Lent, although there is no law of the American Church 
forbidding it. It will be seen by most persons to be 
most improper to have a wedding take place during the 
Church's great period of fasting. 

4th. There are many matters of detail relating to the 
Marriage Service which are not pro^dded for by author- 
ity, and so are left optional with the parties themselves. 
In ail such matters it is well to secure reverence and 
dignity by taking the advice of the clergyman rather 
than to follow absurd and fleeting fashions, or to bring 
worldly usages into the house of the Lord. 

5th. Some of the words used in the Marriage Service 
are not ah,vays understood. 

^^In tlie face of this company" is in the presence of 
the assembled congre|ation. 



CONCERXI>TG THF, SPISCOPATj rHURCH. 



75 



Honorable among all men'' is held in esteem and 
respect, not a trifling or merely temporal matter. 
Estate " is relationship. 

Obey " means that the wife is to render such com- 
pliance with the leadership of the hnsband as belongs 
to the head. Some one must lead, and the husband is 
by divine appointment the head of the wife. It does 
not imply that she becomes his slave, or that he is to 
issue any commands which it is dishonorable for her to 
observe. He degrades himself whenever he requires 
her obedience to an absurd or humiliating decree, and 
especially when he would have her violate any principle 
of righteousness. 

"Troth" is a form of the word truth, and means 
"'my solemn oath.'^ 

"Endow" is to convey possessions. The wife thus 
becomes a sharer in her husband's possessions, and is 
entitled to a support from him. He does not surrender 
to her his business and resources to be arbitrarily man- 
aged by her, but formally and 0|)enly avouches his de- 
termination to support her, and to make her a sharer 
in what he has. 

" Put asunder " is to separate. It refers both to legal 
processes and to interference by meddlesome and de- 
signing persons. There are but two ways by which 
the dissolution of the bonds of Matrimony is possible : 
one is death, and the other is a divorce obtained be- 
cause of the commission of the crime of adultery. 

XVII. 

The Burial of the Dead. 

Burial customs among the early Christians were 
greatly modified by the view of death which the Gospel 



76 



A MANUAL OF INFORMA'TION 



introduced, ^ilid especially by the reception of the doc- 
trine of the resurrection, which has had such an in- 
fluence in brightening the hopes of future life, and of 
giving sanctity to the human body. 

It became the custom in the early Church to sing 
hymns of praise at the graves of the Christian dead, 
and in the case of the martyrs and others to recite their 
labors and sufferings for Christ. Sometimes there was 
the celebration cf the Holy Eucharist at the graves of 
the faithful departed, to betoken the hope of future re- 
union through Christ. The Church in general turned 
with horror from the Eoman and Greek usage of burning 
the bodies of the dead, and selected places of interment 
in the ground, or else in rocky caves, or in galleries 
excavated beneath the ground. During the persecu- 
tions the burials were usually secret, often at night, and 
sometimes in places difficult of access. When more 
peaceful times came they set apart cemeteries, sleep- 
ing-places," and consecrated them to the holy use of 
receiving the bodies of the disciples of the Master. The 
cross became very early the mark of a Christian's rest- 
ing-place, but many other devices were carved upon the 
stones to show that they who sleep in the Lord are in 
joy and felicity. 

Our Church, retaining the primitive views of the be- 
lievers respecting death, has prepared for us a Burial 
Service which contains the correct doctrine concerning 
death, and which teaches us reverent care for the 
bodies of the departed. Our service is prepared for 
the burial of Christians, and although it is used for 
many who give no evidence of having died in the Lord, 
we are not to be their judges, but we must leave them 
now in the hands of the merciful Father. 

Sometimes indeed it is a sore trial when these words 



COXCERNiNG THE EPiSCOPAL CHURfni. 



77 



are read, and we reflect that the one whose remains are 
lowered into the grave gave no evidence whatever of 
being a follower of Christ. But suppose we had two 
services prepared for our use ? How difficult it would 
be to decide sometimes w^hich to use, for no one can 
declare positively that no change took place in the con- 
dition of a poor sinner at the last, so that he has been 
numbered among the penitent and believing. It is 
better as it is. The Church thus declares nothing con- 
cerning the state of the particular individual, but tells 
us that the Christian is at rest in the Lord. 

The service we have is forbidden in the case of un- 
baptized adults, persons who commit suicide, and per- 
sons w^ho die excommunicated. As the service is a 
Christian service, and as Baptism is the mode of admis- 
sion to the Church, no one can complain of the prohibi- 
tion respecting the first class. Willful, deliberate sui- 
cide, of course, indicates a condition of sinfulness such 
as would render this service improper, but the charita- 
ble view is often taken that suicide is the result of 
derangement. Persons dying while cut olf from the 
Church cannot be buried with this service. Excom- 
munication is visited for gross crimes, but the sentence 
is removed whenever one seeks to amend. Ko man 
need remain excommunicate. Whenever he turns from 
his sins and repents, God, for Christ's sake, will forgive 
him, and of course he can be restored to the Church. 

Funerals should usually, if not nearly always, take 
place from the church building. Now and then it is 
impossible to have it so, but in most cases the church 
is the proper place, being more convenient for the pur- 
poses ; and in the case of the Christian dead there is 
peculiar impressiveness lent the services there which 
cannot be the case in an ordinary house. Funerals, 



78 



A MAXi"AL OF INFORMATION* 



too, i^hoiild >>e eoiidiieted simply, vrithoiit ostentation, 
and in aeeordanee with the spirit of this service. 

Divisions of the Sera'ice. — 1st. The opening Sen- 
tences. 2d. The Anthem. 3d. The Lesson. 4th. The 
Meditation. 5th. The Committal. 6th. The Comfort- 
ing Words respecting those who sleep in the Lord. 
7th. Tlie Prayer and Benediction. The service is 
mainly in the words of Holy Scripture, the sentences, 
anthem, lesson, Lord's Prayer, and benediction being 
from the Word of Grod. The remainder is based upon 
its teachings. The sentences are the words of our Lord, 
M. Panl, and Job ; the anthem from the 39th and 90th 
Psalms, part of which was probably composed by Moses 
in the wilderness. The lesson is St. Paul's great de- 
fense of the doctrine of the Eesurrection. The medi- 
tation, '^Li the midst of life," is said to be the compo- 
sition of Xotker, a monk of St. Gall in Switzerland, in 
the ninth century. The committal is founded upon 
several texts of Scripture, such as Eccles. 12 : 7 ; Gen. 
18:27, 3:19; Phil. 3:21. The casting the earth into 
the gi^ave is a memorial that, as Paradise is tilled with 
the souls of departed Christians, so the earth is sown 
with their bodies to await the resurrection at the last 
day. And as we cast earth upon the bodies of the 
dead, it suggests, also, that we, too, shall find our rest- 
ing-place in the grave, when others shall cast earth 
upon us. The recital of the Lord's Prayer at a funeral 
is most impressive, for it gives us opportimity to ex- 
press our confidence in the coming of God's kingdom, 
our resignation to His will, our forgiveness of all in- 
juries, and our wish to be kept from every temptation. 
The final prayers teach us to give thanks for the lives 
of the Christian dead and to pray that we may meet 
them i]i glory. 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHUKCAl. 



79 



The general tendency of this Church is to discourage 
all ostentatious disx>lay at funerals, and to avoid the 
abuses which have made some funeral usages most 
repulsive to all good taste and Christian feeling. Y/e 
are taught to treat the bodies of the departed with all 
respect, and after learning afresh the lesson of our own 
mortality, and the hopes of the Christian, to deposit in 
their last resting-place the earthly remains, ashes to 
ashes, dust to dust, waiting for the general resurrection 
in the last day through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

XVIII. 

Provision for the Religious Training of the Young. 

This Church holds very decided view^s as to the pro- 
priety and necessity of training the young in the w^ays 
of religion. 

In its Catechism it recognizes bax)tized childi=en as 
members of Christ, as children of God, and as inher- 
itors of the kingdom of heaven. It teaches them to 
thank their heavenly Father that He has called them 
to this state of salvation through Jesus Christ our 
Saviour. It teaches them to pray that God w^ould give 
them His grace to continue in the same, this state of 
salvation, unto their lives' end. It further shows them 
that the promises which were made for them in their 
baptism they must themselves perform w-hen they come 
of age. It instructs sponsors tiiat they must bring the 
children up to lead godly and Christian lives. It calls 
upon these baptized children, as they reach ye?.rs of 
discretion, to present themselves for Confirmation. In 
that Apostolic rite they are publicly to acknowledge 
themselves bound to believe and to do as their sponsors 



80 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



promised for them, and to seek the gifts of the Holy 
Spirit to enable them to be faithful to their Christian 
obligations. After that it bids them come to the Altar 
of the Lord to ]3artake of the spiritual nourishment 
which is provided for them in the Sacrament of the 
Body and Blood of their Lord. 

As Bishop Kipp says : The Church claims the chil- 
dren even from their birth, and gathers them at once 
into its fold, that, from the first, the promises of the 
Gospel may be pledged to them and they share in those 
rich blessings which are offered to its members.'^ 

The Church by Baptism takes the children into mem- 
bership and seeks to educate them for the Lord from 
their earliest infancy. This is vastly different from 
letting them grow up as aliens to the Church of God 
and as outside of the covenant of promise. Here are 
they made members of the family of God on earth, 
and are trained as the Lord's children. We cannot tell 
what actual change is effected in the spiritual condition 
of a child at his baptism. Prayer is offered that the 
Holy Ghost would come upon him so that he might be 
born again. He is certainly born again, born into a 
condition where there are new privileges, born again 
in the sense of becoming a member of the family of 
God, and hence of being surrounded by gracious influ- 
ences, but there is something more than that. It is not, 
however, the belief of this Church, as w^as once stated 
in a declaration of the Bishops, that any moral change 
in the child's nature is effected by the administration 
of Baptism. He is not made holy by that one act, but 
the germs of holiness are implanted in him. These 
germs may afterward be expanded. As he develops, 
and as life goes on in the atmosphere of religious privi- 
leges, the germs of the religious life begun at the time 



COXCERXINCr THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. gl 

of his baptism may be enlarged into holiness of spirit 
and righteousness of life. The fact that some baptized 
children do not give any evidence of religious priji- 
ciples, and that some grow up altogether vicious, must 
not make us doubt that in baptism the germs of a bet- 
ter life are implanted. 

Many seeds fail to grow. Many lessons are never 
understood. And so in the religious life possibilities 
may never be realized. 

It is not too much to say that if baptized children 
are religiously trained, and if they will but co-operate 
with such training, they will grow up as the faithful 
followers of our Saviour Christ. The Church cannot 
work miracles for them or upon them, but can offer 
them help and counsel. This is what is done : 

Telling the sponsors that the child is now a member 
of Christ's body, the Charch, it requires them to train 
it up in Christian ways, to teach it the Catechism, to 
bring it to the house of God, and to liaA'e it look for- 
ward to still more active and positive discipleship of 
Christ. The Catechism is the child's body of divinity. 
Speaking of the Catechism, Bishop Kipp remarks : 

How admirable is every portion of this little formu- 
lary ! While so short that the young child can commit 
it to memory, and so simple that its meaning can be 
easily explained and learned, it is at the same time so 
comprehensive an outline of religion that it familiarizes 
the mind with all its cardinal truths. Neither is there 
anything dim or vague in the instruction which it im- 
parts. All is plain and practical. The opening ques- 
tions naturally lead the child to speak of his baptism, 
the privileges and obligations of which are accordingly 
explained. Then follow the articles of the Creed, which 
it is required to believe, the Ten Commandments, which 



82 



A :>IAXrAL OF IXFOKMATiOX 



are laid down as its rule of life toward God and its 
neighbor. The necessity of grace from on high having 
Ijeen inculcated, that prayer is added which our Lord 
Himself gave His followers to use. The whole then 
concludes with a brief exposition of the nature of the 
two Sacraments, Bapitisni and the Lord's Supper, the 
benefits to be derived from them, and the requisites 
necessary for their proper reception. Where in so small 
a compass can you find so admirable a viev*^ of the doc- 
trines of our faith? Yrhile the doubts and question- 
ings of controA'ersy are shunned everything is inculcated 
which is necessary to inform the mind or regulate the 
life by the rules of holiness." 

In order that children may be taught the Catechism, 
a rubric in our Prayer Book directs that the Minister 
of every parish shall diligently, upon Sundays and Holy 
Days, or on some other convenient occasions, openly in 
the church instruct aud examine so many children of 
his parish sent unto him as he shall think convenient in 
some part of this Catechism.'' 

It is further directed that young persons who have 
not yet learned their Catechism be sent to the Minister 
for this instruction. 

For a long tim.e the usage of public catechizings was 
continued in many parishes, the children assembling at 
the chancel railing, reciting the different answers, and 
the Minister explaining part by part as they went on. 
This usage, however, has been succeeded by many dif- 
ferent plans, such as the Sunday-school and the Chil- 
dren's Service in the Church. 

Catechizing is still continued, but with additional 
stuvdies, so that the 7voung people have opportunity to 
gain ail acquaintar.co with the great facts of Scripture 
and witii the Prayer Book and its offices. In addition 



OONOERNJNG IMiE EPTS(Y)t>AL OHrRCH. 



to all these, there is the Coiihrmatioii ("hiss, formed 
largely of the young, to receive some regular and sys- 
tematic instruction from the clergyman upon Christian 
Doctrines and Christian Duties. 

Thus, then, by admitting the child to membership, 
pro^dding sponsors for him, setting forth directions 
for his being brought up Christianly, and giving him 
knowledge of all essential truths, the Church looks for- 
ward to the time when, reaching years of diseretio]i, 
the young Christian will publicly in'ofess his determi- 
nation to give up sin, to believe all the Truth, and to 
please God both in will and deed. Then the Church 
calls together the people, the Minister, and the Bishop, 
and bids them pray that the Holy Ghost may come to 
this disciple and make him strong to do all this. After 
being confirmed the Church admits him to the sacred 
feast of remicmbrance, and invites him to come by 
faith to feed upon the spiritual food which Christ pro- 
vides. 

Consider too, as part of this training, the constant 
round of religious services, keeping steadily before the 
mind the truths of the Christian Faith, building him up 
in the knowledge of the truth and encouraging him to 
practice its principles. 

The Church appeals constantly to the intellect aiid to 
the heart : by holy prayers elevating their aspirations 
above this passing world ; by holy words sanctifying 
their thoughts ; by bringing before them the examples 
of the good, fostering a love of goodness. 

Never for an instant does the Church lose sight of 
one committed to its trust. From his baptism to his 
burial, from the cradle to the grave, the Church is by 
his side." ' 

Like a tender nurse, or rather like a most loving 



84 



MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



mother, this Church carefully watches over us from our 
first entrance into the world until we depart from it. 

' ' I love the Church — the holy Church, 

That o'er our life presides, 
The birth, the bridal, and the grave, 

And many an hour besides 1 
Be mine, through life, to live in her, 

And when the Lord shall call, 
To die in her — the spouse of Christ 

The Mother of us all. " 



XIX. 

What is meant by Confirmation, and how Persons 
are prepared to receive it. 

In common with nine tenths of the Christian world 
this Church retains the Apostolic rite of Confirmation. 
It is otherwise called ^^the laying on of hands." It is 
administered to those who have come to years of dis- 
cretion and who now wish to renew their baptismal 
vows, and to seek the help of the Holy Spirit to keep 
them. It is called the Apostolic rite because it was the 
usage of the Apostles in the first ages of Christianity to 
lay their hands u]3on the heads of ba,ptized persons to 
invoke for them the gift of the Holy Spirit. We find 
traces of this rite in the first history of the Christian 
Church as recorded in the book of the Acts of the 
Apostles. Beside this, the laying on of hands is re- 
ferred to by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews 
as one of the first principles of Christianity. It would 
seem that when converts to the Gospel were made they 
were first baptized and afterward confirmed by an 
Apostle or Bishop. The rite has been continued all 
along down through the past ages of the Church, and is 
retained now in nearly all branches of the Church. 



cokcEiiNixii Tiir. r.i'iscoPAh ciiT-ROt. 



85 



Some Protestant ])0(lies liave not retained it, partly 
becanse tliev do not have Bishops for its administration. 

With US it is a very important rite, for it gives per- 
sons baptized in infancy the opportnnity to take npon 
them the vows then made for them by their sponsors, 
and gives other persons baptized in adult years the op- 
portunity to make again the vows they assumed for 
themselves in Baptism. It is, in a very important 
sense, a confession of Christ. They stand before the 
world and acknowledge themselves as His disciples, 
determined to give up evil, to believe the truth, and to 
serve God in a life of obedience. 

In addition to this, it becomes a time of earnest 
prayer for the influences of the Holy Ghost. It is hard 
to imagine an occasion of greater solemnity than this, 
when these persons, professing to feel the importance 
of consecrating themselves to the religious life, seek 
the aid of the Holy Ghost to remain forever faithful. 

In such a solemn horn-, when ministers and congrega- 
tion and candidates are in earnest supplication, can it 
not be believed that He who is more willing to give the 
Holy Spirit to them who ask Him than a father is to 
give good gifts unto his children will strengthen them 
with the Holy Ghost the Comforter? Can it not be be- 
lieved that this is indeed a new period in their lives, 
in which the Lord and Giver of life shall daily increase 
in them Thy manifold gifts of grace " ? 

Let no one think that the Bishop who administers 
this rite assumes to convey arbitrarily these precious 
gifts of grace. The Bishop is a chief officer of the 
Church, succeeding to the office and work of an Apostle, 
but in and of himself he can do nothing. He is simply 
the agent for conveying the confirmation blessing. He 
makes humble supplication to the ever-living God for 



86 



A FANttAL OF INFORMATION 



the candidate, and then, after the example of the holy 
Apostles, lays his hands on them, to certify them by 
that sign of God's favor and gracious goodness toward 
them. His prayer for them is: ^^Let Thy Fatherly 
hand ever be over them, let Thy Holy Spirit ever be 
with them.'' 

Just as an earthly father loves his children and would 
shield them from evil and give them blessings, so may 
they ever realize that the hand of the Heavenly Father 
is over them. Blessed realization, that the mighty God 
is their Father and will guide and defend them ! 

The assurance of any wise and pious man that the 
Holy Spirit is willing to dwell within us would be an 
assurance full of comfort ] but think of it as coming 
from one whom the Lord sends to us, from one who 
holds the exalted office of a successor to the Apostles, 
from one who has been divinely commissioned to bless 
men in the name of the Lord, and how deeply signifi- 
cant becomes the rite of Confirmation ! 

Such a solemn rite, then, should be approached with 
seriousness and entered into only after due preparation. 
This Church is careful to provide for the proper train- 
ing of all candidates for Confirmation. If any one 
enters into it with a trifling spirit, or ignorant of what 
he is expected to give up, to believe, and to do as a 
Christian, it is because the Church's requirements have 
not been complied with in his case. 

Consider what a proper preparation for Confirmation 
implies : 

1st. The baptized child is to be taught so soon as he 
is able to learn what a solemn vow, promise, and pro- 
fession has been made for him. 

2d. He is to form the habit of attending church, for 
he must hear sermons. 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHUKCll. 



87 



od. He is to learn the Church Catechism, iu which is 
contained the fundamental truths of our religion. 

4th. He is to be virtuously brought up to lead a godly 
and a Christian life. 

oth. He is to be sent to the clergyman for instruction. 

It has been said that the earliest years of a child's 
life are his most important years, for the bias is given 
then to his whole after-development. The Church as- 
sumes the correctness of this saying, for it expects 
children to be brought under religious influences as 
soon after their birth as is possible, and the work of 
religious training is to be begun so soon as they can 
grasp the simjDlest elements of truth or perform the 
simplest duties of the Christian. 

The Church regards them as already in the fold of 
Christ on earth, and therefore goes on training them 
for Him. A child who has been baptized in infancy, 
and whose after-training has been in accordance with 
the requirements of this Church, will, v\iien he reaches 
years of discretion, say at the age of twelve or more, be 
both ready and desirous of being confirmed. Having 
learned what his godfathers and godmothers promised 
for him in Baptism, and understanding the nature of 
those vows by the instruction given him, he will be 
ready to take those vows upon himself, and to promise 
that, by the help of God, he will keep them. He will 
be ready to seek more the influence of the Holy Grhost 
as he nov/ realizes how weak he is in himself and 
how great are the responsibilities and duties of the 
Christian . 

The Churches theory of religious development and 
training is strongly contrasted with systems that treat 
the child as a heathen while he grows up, and then re- 
sort to wild revival excitements that lie may get re- 



88 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



ligion." Unhappily, not all children baptized in this 
Churchy not all even who have professedly pious fathers 
and mothers, are brought up religiously as the Church 
requires. Then, too, there are influences that may 
creep into a child's life and turn its current in some 
evil direction, or bring into it elements that retard 
for a while, perhaps for a long while, the growth of 
grace. 

Not all grow up sj^mmetrically in the Christian life. 
Some are dwarfed and stunted, others are sadly maimed 
and crippled, and some go far astray, before they find 
the narrow way that leads to life. 

While, then, the Church ever holds up its theory of 
symmetrical religious development from the font to the 
altar, there have to be adaptations to the varying con- 
ditions of those vvlio. are reached by its ministrations, 
and so a preparation for Confirmation is quite different 
in many cases from what we have seen it was in the 
case of the Christian child who grows up in wisdom's 
path of i^eace. There may be those from whose minds 
a whole brood of strange prejudices have to be expelled. 
They have known nothing of Christianity except some 
very narrow and warped conceptions of it. They have 
grown up under the influence of some little sect where 
non-essentials were made tests of spiritual soundness, 
and where each one's religious experiences must coin- 
cide with one pattern. 

There may be those, too, who have fallen under the 
influence of shallow infidelity and whose minds have 
become clouded with doubts which have led them to 
look at religion for a long time with aversion or at least 
with distrust. 

There are also others who have been led into vice by 
evil associates, or by yielding to their own evil propen- 



COXCERNlNCr THE EPISCOPAL CHURCIf. 



80 



sities. They luiyo boon liekl in the eluiius uf hud luibits. 
While others were growing in grace they grew farther 
away from goodness. 

There are many dex)artnres from that kind of religious 
growth which the Clnirch sets before iis as the best type, 
and so all these various classes must be met. 

A confirmation class is usually made up of persons of 
very dissimilar religious develoj)ment, who have come 
to this point by various v\^ays. Here is a boy who has 
steadily grown in grace in a pious home under good 
training. Here is a man who had equally good oppor- 
tunities, but he strayed away, and now, after years 
wasted, begins where he might have been a long while 
ago. Here is another who came very near neglecting 
his soul altogether, so absorbed was he in the things of 
this life. This couple grew up in a faith which as they 
became older seemed too narrow for them, and this 
other couple have been waiting and hoping to take this 
step, but w^ere hindered hitherto by some scruples as 
to some point of very little importance. There is one 
whose experiences have been so hard and so bitter that 
his soul is bov/ed within him with sorrow. He has 
found no relief in the v/orld. He is now seeking relief 
where alone it can be found. And so on. The varieties 
of character and of experience are many ; but coming 
with faith and in sincerity to this holy rite, will they go 
away without the Lord's blessing? 

The Strangcrls Stex)S Guided. — The question is con- 
tinually asked, but especially at each Confirmation sea- 
son : ^^How can a stranger become an Episcopalian?'^ 
The answer is that advice should be sought from the 
clergyman of the parish. If the stranger has already 
been baptized in due form, there is no repetition of 
baptism in his case. He is instructed and prepared 



90 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



for Confirmation, and after being confxrmed is admitted 
to the Communion. This is the usual course, but each 
ease requires the advice of the clergyman, which can 
easily be had at all times. 

XX. 

The Position of Laymen. 

It is sometimes cited as an objection to the Episcopal 
Church that it appears to be a clergyman's Church, and 
that it gives but little work or responsibility to its lay 
people. A very little examination will shov\^ how erro- 
neous is this objection. 

In the first place, laymen have a jxo't in all the Church 
Councils. Whether it be the voluntary Convocation of 
a district or the General Convention, there is a lay rep- 
resentation with the right to voice and vote. Diocesan 
Conventions, Standing Committees, Boards of Missions, 
and all Societies are made up in part of laymen. Thus 
they have an important function in legislation and in 
the control of all Church matters, 

2d. Laymen constitute tlie vestries of parisltes, and thus 
ha ve in their charge the calling and settling of ]\iinisters, 
and the general management of the temporal atlairs of 
parishes. While the direction of spiritual matters is in 
the hands of the Rector, the temporalities are in the 
hands of the laity. But besides this, any vestry made 
up of religious men becomes also the board of advice 
and the assistants of the Rector even in spiritual mat- 
ters. There is no disposition on the part of the clergy 
to rule absolutely, even in their otvtl sphere, but to ac- 
cept most gi-atefully the suggestions and the co-opera- 
tion of the vestry. In fact, the constant appeal of the 
clergy is for more helpers in spiritual matters, and there 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 91 

is a readiness to accept the assistance of any, especially 
of the vestry, who are competent to render it. 

3d. Xo ()rdi}iatio}is are jw^sihle wlthont the consent of 
lay men. Before a man can be admitted to any order in 
the Church he must have the indorsement of a sufficient 
number of laymen. If they do not believe him to be 
competent and worthy, they can withold consent and 
make their complaints. No Bishop can arbitrarily and 
against the well-founded accusations of the laity confer 
holy orders upon a candidate. When a man is ordained, 
it is with the approval of laymen who have certified 
their belief that it is well to confer orders upon him. 

4th. There are many are)ti(es of nsefiihiess open to laij- 
nie}i. We are realizing more and more how useful a 
devout layman may be in any ordinary parish. In 
some of our parishes many who once seemed to think 
there was nothing for them to do but to attend services 
and give money are finding channels of activity open 
for them. Laymen can serve as lay readers, as superin- 
tendents and teachers of Sunday-schools, as visitors of 
the poor, as organizers and managers of clubs, and in 
countless other ways whereby the infiuences of religion 
are spread among the masses. 

5th. In the new^ life of the Church there are special 
fields of labor for laymen. Within the past few years 
many helpful agencies have been organized among us, 
such as the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, choir guilds, 
the Young Men's Friendly Society, Workingmen's Clubs, 
and such like movements that make constant appeals 
for workers. Any man who has the willingness to work 
will find more than he can do. If he is connected with 
any fairly well organized parish to-day, he will probably 
find himself called upon for all the work he can do. In 
fact, the great trouble felt in many parishes is to find 



92 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



laborers enough to carry on the benevolent labors of 
its different organizations. The man who wants to be 
simply a looker -on finds his conscience greatly troubled 
by this stir of activity all around him. A working 
Church as this is contemplates a working laity. The 
days of the old slumbrous parish when the Eector and 
a few pious women did all the parish work have passed. 
There has come everywhere a new conception of what 
a parish ought to be doing, so that if men expect to 
have an easy time of it, they find their quiet constantly 
disturbed by the demands made upon them to do some- 
thing for others. 

The notion that laymen have but little to do in the 
Episcopal Church grew up in part because their help 
has until of late been sparingly made use of in the 
conducting of religious services and in the delivery of 
religious addresses. We have had but little among 
us corresponding to the Prayer Meeting where laymen 
offered prayers and made exhortations and addresses. 
The conducting of services and the giving of instruction 
is of course the special function of the ordained Min- 
istry, but at the same time there is among us the field 
for the employment of the ability of laymen in these re- 
spects. There is nothing to prevent a devout and quali- 
fied layman receiving a license to serve as lay reader. 
He can conduct the service of Morning and Evening 
Prayer where there is no clergyman, and can make re- 
ligious addresses to the congregation. In any parish, 
with the Rector's consent, he can gather together a 
^oup of people in some comparatively neglected part 
of tha parish, a-nd instruct them in the truths of re- 
ligion, In our large parishes it would be possible to 
have a number of such missions in charge of laymen. 

Here and there arc lay preachers who are doing go^^d 



conceiinin(t the episcopal CHUiiCH. \y,} 

work ill reaching the careless, and their efforts are ap- 
preciated and welcomed. This Church offers no hin- 
drance to such labors, and the feeling dominant to-day 
is decidedly in favor of them. 

There is really nothing to hinder the zeal and devo- 
tion of any wise and pious man who wants to influence 
others wholesomely in the religious life. 

It were well if many more laymen could feel their 
responsibility for the use of talents intrusted to them. 

XXI. 

Parochial Organizations. 

The aims of a parish are to build up the kingdom of 
Christ. It seeks to lead men from the world into that 
kingdom, to help them live Christ-like lives. 

To accomplish these aims there are parochial organi- 
zations, varying in number and in labors according to 
the condition and abilities of the parish. 

Not all parishes have precisely the same organiza- 
tions. What will suit one neighborhood may not an- 
swer in another. What is greatly needed in one place 
may not be required in the next. Besides this, one 
parish may be rich in workers and in appliances, but 
in another, however abundant the fields, there may be 
but few laborers to send forth unto the harvest. 

The various kinds of parochial organizations which 
are found, some here and some there, may be grouped 
into four classes : 

1st. Societies or Chapters for the religious education 
of young persons and the ignorant. 

2d. For caring for the poor, the sick, the disabled, 
and sufferers of every degree, 



94 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



3d. For reaching strangers and those out of the way, 
and bringing them nnder wholesome influences. 

4th. For promoting Christian fellowship. 

It will probably be found that by whatever name a 
parochial agency, old or new, be called, it falls some- 
where into one of these classes. 

First on the list of parochial agencies for educational 
])tiri)oses is the Sfoidajf-scJ/ooJ, with its officers, teachers, 
and scholars. The Rector is always the Superintend- 
ent, although he may not be called so. He may transfer 
to some one else the direction of its affairs and the title, 
but he is, by virtue of his position, the responsible 
head. 

If a scliool is large enough, it may be divided into 
three departments : The primary, the intermediate, and 
the advanced. Sometimes these are known as ^^the 
infant class," ^^the general school," and ^^the Bible 
classes." The studies to be pursued are the Scriptures, 
the Catechism, the Prayer Book, Sacred Music, Church 
History, and Church Work. The great object of the 
Sunday-school is to help young people to learn ^'the 
Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, 
and all other things which a Christian ought to know 
and believe to his soul's health." By the rubrics at the 
end of the Catechism "all fathers, mothers, masters, 
and mistresses shall cause their children, servants, and 
apprentices who have not learned their Catechism to 
come to the church at the time appointed, and obedi- 
ently to hear and to be ordered by the Minister until ' 
such time as they have learned all that is here ap- 
pointed for them to learn." 

It was at one time the general custom, and is still 
maintained in some places, to have a weekly or a 
monthly catechizing openly m the churcli by the 



JoNOERNlXG TflE EPTSCOPAL CHTTRCH. 



95 



Minister. Instead oi: this a common custom now is to 
teach a part of tlie Catechism in connection with the 
lesson from the Scriptures, and have a review of all by 
the Minister, or his representative, at the close of the 
school session. 

There is no one plan after which all Sunday-schools 
are organized. Two essential points are, that the teach- 
ers shall be persons of sincere piety, and that there 
shall be systematic instruction adapted to the capacity 
of the scholars. 

Great definiteness is given to the work if the school 
be regarded as one great Confirmation class, divided 
into sections, and each teacher helping to prepare the 
unconfirmed to assume their Baptismal Yows and to 
become devout communicants. In the case of those 
already confirmed the aim is to keep them faithful to 
their vows, and to enable them to live useful Christian 
lives. 

Beside the Sunday-school and Bible classes the parish 
sometimes undertakes other educational work, as, for 
example, niglit schools for factory and mill oi:)eratives 
and other classes of persons. 

There seems to be no limit to the educational work in 
which a parish may engage if it regard itself as a center 
of light and responsible for the enlightenment of 
whom it can reach. Of course all its educational v/ork 
has a religious purpose, and must be done with the dis- 
tinct end of leading all to Him who is the light of the 
world. 

2d. Chapters for the Belief of the Poor, etc. In al- 
most every parish there is the 3ieed of some organized 
effort to help persons who have a struggle with adver- 
sity. Thus the alms collected at Communion celebra- 
tions are by the rubrics devoted to the I'elief of the 



96 A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 

poor. These collections are usually disbursed by the 
Rector or under his direction. There are, however, 
many cases of need where it is not always best simply 
to hand over sums of money, and there are other cases 
where not money or materials but wise counsel and 
guidance are needed. 

Some poverty can be relieved, but very much more 
can be prevented. Especial attention is paid in these 
days to the prevention of poverty, and so in many 
parishes there are organizations for teaching people 
habits of thrift and industry, and for putting them in 
the way to support themselves. 

Thus we find sewing schools, cooking clubs, and 
classes for the study of special branches, as well as 
employment committees to secure situations for those 
who are in search of work. The great principle em- 
phasized in all this dealing Avith the poor and all classes 
of sufferers is that we are all brethren, and that Christ 
is the Brother of us all. Anything like mere patronage 
of the poor, or the casting of angry alms into their 
hands, or the official doling out of supplies by weight 
and measure, or the over-lavish spending of charity 
monc}^, will not meet the cases. 

Only when we feel that we are acting for the Lord 
Jesus in relieving our brethren, and when we treat 
them as brethren, lovingly and wisely, shall we indeed 
relieve them and lead them to look gratefully to Him 
who is the Benefactor of all. 

3d. Under the head of efforts for reaching strangers, 
etc., come such societies as the Brotherhood of St. An- 
drew, the Girls^ Friendly Society, and a great many 
guilds, associations, and missionary chapters. 

They all emphasize the fact that the Church is not for 
a few favored persons, but opens wide the doors for all 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



97 



who will come into its fellowship. Nothing has been 
so helpful in late years in doing away with the air of 
exclusiveness which this Church seemed to have in the 
estimation of some as the work of such societies. If 
the impression ever prevailed that the Episcopal Church 
existed mainly for specially favored classes in the com- 
munity, such as the wealthy and the educated, that 
impression is dispelled so soon as the person looks at 
what is being done by almost any parish to welcome 
strangers. 

4th. The Fromotlon of Christian Felloicship is a very 
important part of the work of a parish. There is much 
to be done in the way of bringing people together in 
kindly bonds and making them feel that the Church of 
Christ is one family in the Lord. 

Among the agencies used for this purpose in some 
places are Visiting Committees, who call to see the new 
families arriving in the parish and the strangers tempo- 
rarily sojourning there. In other places there are social 
gatherings, receptions, and the like, held in the Parish 
House, or the Rectory, or other suitable rooms, and 
very decided efforts i3ut forth that the new-comers shall 
have opportunity to know others and to be known by 
them. 

A parish has made a very decided gain when all its 
members know each other and are friendly, but its 
work is greatly advanced when it is bound together as 
one great family, each member being interested in the 
welfare of every other member. It realizes then some- 
what of the condition of the primitive Church when the 
believers were all of one heart and of one soul. 



98 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



XXII. 

The Care of the Poor. 

The oare of the poor is a Christian duty. It is 
solemnly enjoined npon the disciples of Him who went 
about doing good. It will he one of the final tests of 
diseipleship at the last great day when He shall come 
again to judge the living and the dead. Hungry^ and 
ye fed Me ; naked, and ye clothed Me ; sick and im- 
prisoned, and ye ^dsited Me. Because ye have done it 
unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have 
done it unto Me." Because ye have not done it^ ye 
have not done it unto Me." 

The Christian Church has always taken up the work 
of earing for the poor as one of the reasons for its very 
existence in the world. Just as the divine Master re- 
lieved suffering and fed the hungry, so the Church 
exists for benevolent v^ork and has gone on continuing 
His lo^T-ug deeds, and reproducing His life of mercy and 
charity on the earth. 

In the earliest days of the Christian Church the disci- 
ples had all things in common. Xo one of them lacked 
anything. They vrould not let one of their number 
suffer, and there must have been m^any poor among 
them. A little later on, only a few years after Pente- 
cost, the Order of Deacons was instituted to see to the 
better care of the poor. We have accounts of collec- 
tions being made when there was famine or suffering 
for the relief of the poor, and many precepts inculcat- 
ing liberality to those who are in necessity. 

It would be surprising, then, if the Episcopal Church, 
holding as it does to the traditions of the past, and 
seeking to maintain the spirit of the early Church, 
should not care for the poor. And yet it is sometimes 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCIT. 



99 



thouglit of by some as the Cliiireli of the rich. It al- 
ways has been and always mnst be the Church for all 
sorts and conditions of men. Of all existing religious 
bodies its membership is most representative of tlie 
different classes of society, some coming from all grades 
and conditions. It cannot be the Church of a class. It 
welcomes the poor to its privileges, but besides this it 
makes it obligatory upon every parish to take measures 
for the relief of those who in this transitory life are in 
need or sickness or distress of any kind. 

Consider when the Holy Communion is celebrated 
how the offertory sentences bring before us this duty — 
and besides, the offerings themselves are styled ^^The 
Alms for the Poor.'^ The disbursement of these alms 
is left with the clergyman. Without undue publicity, 
without giving needless humiliation, he is to relieve 
their temporal necessities. The spirit in which this is 
done is that more prosperous brethren share what they 
have with those less prosperous. Consider, too, how 
constant are the prayers of this Church for the poor. 
In the prayer for all sorts and conditions of men occurs 
the quaint phrase ^^any ways distressed in estate.'^ It 
refers to some who have suffered great losses, and to 
others who are in need of temporal relief. 

The Holy Communion is never celebrated v/ithout a 
prayer for those in need. It v/ould be difficult for any 
attendent upon the services of this Church to remain 
ignorant of the Church's interest in the poor. 

But besides the prayers and off^erings for the needy, 
most of our parislies have organizations for extending 
relief. Nothing is more common among us than the 
societies of Christian women who ply their needles to 
make garments for tlie poor. In some parishes there 
are several organizations or chapters of guilds ^vith this 



100 



A MANUAL OF IXFORMATIOX 



special work "before them, of relieving the needs of the 
poor, and also of bettering their condition. Into this 
latter aim a great deal of careful study has been brought 
by the Church in recent times. It has been seen that 
poverty can sometimes be prevented, and that it may 
often be permanently cured. Nothing is worse than to 
pauperize people. As soon as their self-respect is lost 
they settle down into indolence and allow others to help 
them to the fullest extent. Poverty is sometimes the 
result of misfortune, but it often results from crime, or 
ignorance, or bad management, or inheritance. Some 
are born paupers. They have had pauper parents. 
They do not know how and they do not care to main- 
tain themselves. Then vice brings down the highest to 
the low level of the pauper, and the one vice intemper- 
ance is responsible for a large proportion of poverty. 

Members of the Episcopal Church are among the most 
enthusiastic students of the social problems of the day. 

Poverty and its Prevention," Poverty and its 
Cure," are themes with which they are very familiar, 
and the contributions this Church is making and has 
already made to the solution of the problems that come 
under these heads are most valuable. Some of our 
parishes are hives of industry, with their cooking clubs, 
their classes in different departments, their vrorking- 
men's organizations, and their savings-banks. The most 
intelligent and most strenuous efforts are made to cul- 
tivate habits of thrift and industry, to provide health- 
ful recreations, and to diminish the attractiveness of 
the dr in king-place to those most exposed to its tempta- 
tions. No one can tell what is to be the outcome of the 
social and economic questions of our day ; but of one 
thing we may be sure, that in all movements affecting 
the welfare of the poor and the bettering of their con- 



COXCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. IQl 



. (liiioii, tliis Cliui'ch Y>'ill not lag bcliiiid. It would bo 
recreant to its duty if it ever ceased to be interested in 
whatever made men's lives nobler and better. 

There is nothing ennobling in poverty. It mr;y lead 
to submission and trust, but it is not a condition to bo 
sought, nor is it one with which any one is to be satis- 
tied. The bondage of daily need represses energies 
that might be profitably used in other directions. Pov- 
erty has its temptations. It may make men sordid and 
groveling. It is not the best condition for usefulness 
or for holiness. 

Yv^e have no right to msbke ourselves burdensome to 
others, nor to deprive the world of what we can con- 
tribute toward the general stock of ha^ppiness. When 
our Lord became poor, it was not to recommend pov- 
erty for its own sake. It was a necessary part of His 
lunniliation as the bearer of our sins. 

XXIII. 

How this Church carries on its Missionary Work. 

The extension of the Church and planting it in new 
places and strengthening it where it is weak is one of 
the clearest of all Christian duties. 

The ideal of Christianity is to bring all nations into 
obedience to the faith of Christ, and to cause the knowl- 
edge of the Lord to cover the earth as the v/aters cover 
the seas. The Episcopal Church lias its plans of mis- 
sions and its missionary v/ork, nor only so, it is in itself 
a inissionary organization. 

The old parish system by wliich the territory of a 
State was divided up into areas and called parishes 
made each congregation responsible for the v/elfare of 
all witliin its own parish limits. Although sometimes 



102 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



tlie parish system had the effect of making people 
indifferent to the v/elfare of those outside their ovrn 
pPorish, the effect generally was to intensify the duty of 
caring for those in the nearest circles, and of seeing 
that every one within a given area had religious privi- 
leges. That is the parish idea to-day vrhenevcr the 
parish is thought of in connection with metes and 
bounds. The missionary work of the Church begins 
vrith those near at hand, and in such a vvork all be- 
lievers may become helpers. Every invitation given 
a stranger to attend the Church services, every effort 
to bring children to the Sunday-school, everything that 
can be done to awaken the careless to an interest in re- 
ligion, come under the designation of missionary work 
in the parish. 

But tlie bounds of the parish are not to limit the 
range of sympathy and effort. Interest in the extension 
of the Church cannot j)roperly cease when one has done 
what he can for those who live in his own parish. It 
must extend to others outside, Yse are not to wait 
until ail within om= parish ])econie devout Christians 
before seekiiig tlie religious welfare of those beyond it. 
Our responsibility ends with giving them opportunities 
to know and to love the truth. Their obedience to the 
truth cannot be eomi:)eUed by us. AVe cannot force 
men to be devout. It is never a valid excuse, then, to 
hold Ijack our encouragement and aid from outside mis- 
sionary movements because there are irreligious per- 
sons in our own neighborhood. 

It would be entirely proper to confine our efforts to 
these irreligious ones near home, if they were without 
proper religious opportunities, until tliey had all the 
needed privileges. As it is, however, in an ordinary 
parish it can hardly be said that any one is allowed to 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOTWT; OiURCII. 



103 



grow up in absolute ignorance of the Gospel, if the 
Church, its schools, and parochial organizations are 
maintained with any degree of vigor. The opportuni- 
ties are so numerous for learning vv^hat Christ's religion 
is, that they who remain ignorant in our parishes do so 
from choice or from reasons that we cannot control. 

Then, still further, it is found that the people most 
interested in those near at home are also interested 
in those beyond. Christian love and zeal for Christ's 
glory make men's hearts large. 

The Episcopal Church, while it does expect each one 
to aid his own parish, regards each one also as a helper 
in the work beyond. One of the most important of its 
general principles relating to missions is that ercvy lap- 
tized person, man, woman, and child, is a mcmhcy of its 
Missionary Society. Thus the work of Church extension 
is not made the peculiar province of a few persons here 
and there, but the obligation to assist is very squarely 
brought before each baptized person. This Church 
virtually says, ^^You are baptized into the membership 
of the Christian Church — now do all you can to advance 
the interests of Christ's kingdom. You have been 
brought into blessed privileges — go and bring others to 
enjoy them with you. Do not be satisfied until the 
kingdoms of the world have become the kingdoms of 
our Lord and His anointed." 

With a membership in its Missionary Society as large 
as the baptized membership of the Church itself, the 
organization for the administration of the affairs of m^is- 
sions is the General Convention of the Church, made up 
of its House of Bishops and of the House of Clerical 
and Lay Deputies, and meeting once in three years. 
In the intervals between its meetings the management 
devolves upon a board of managers composed of fifteen 



A MANUAL OF IXFOKMATION 



Bisliox)s, iifteeii T're.snytrrs, and iiitecii laymen elected 
at each Trieimial Meeting of the General Convention. 

The missionary ^vork done by the Church is divided 
into the t^vo general branches of Domestic and Foreign. 
The former includes missions in new settlements in 
our own land^ and among Incdans, colored people, and 
others. The latter includes missions among people of 
foreign lands, as the Chinese, Japanese, Africans, and 
others. The expense of maintaining these various mis- 
sions was about $354,000 in the year 1890-91. This 
does not include the returns from legacies and from 
some special funds, nor does it include the amounts 
expended in the several dioceses for the support of 
missions in their own territory. The aggregate would 
probably be about half a million dollars jjer year for new 
work. A very great deal more is expended for keej)ing 
up the existing parishes and adding to their elticiency. 

There are three modes of contributing money for 
missionary r)nrposes : 

1st. In the regular offerings made in the parish from 
time to time for Diocesan, Domestic, and Foreign 
missions. 

2d. By sending special gifts to the treasury of the 
Board. 

3d. By making provision for bequests by will for 
such jiurposes as endowing a Missionary Bishopric, 
providing for the salaries of missionaries, building 
chapels and schools and missionary jurisdictions, and 
for scholarships in schools and missionary colleges. 

A very large and helpful vrork is carried on by the 
Woman's Auxiliary to the Board of Missions. 

This is a society of the women of the Church, with 
branches in many of our parishes, and the modes of 
operation are the collecting of money, making up of 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



105 



boxes of clothing, ete.^ for missionaries, and spreading 
information of the needs of the different fields. 

Some kind of a missionar}^ society will be found in 
nearly all of the well-established parishes ; the plans of 
organization and of work may not all be alike, but the 
end is the same, and that is to create an interest in the 
work of Church extension and to secure help for it. It 
will be seen from all this that the Episcopal Church has' 
all the machinery needed for very extended missionary 
work. As la^rger means are given, and as more helpers 
are raised up, its operations can be widely extended in 
every direction — in fact, there is no limit to v/hat may 
be attempted. But in very important sense this Church, 
as was remarked in the beginning, is itself a Missionary 
Church in this country. In large sections of some of our 
oldest States it is quite feeble, whole counties having 
not a single parish, and in other States it is well-nigh un- 
known. It may be stating the point too strongly to say 
that very many thousands of people in the United States 
have never even heard of the Episcopal Church, but it 
is perfectly true that very man^^ thousands have but the 
most shadowy ideas of its history and doctrines and 
usages, and that other thousands know of it only 
through prejudices and distorted statements. Much of 
its missionary work for a long time to come must con- 
sist in making itself known, not boastfully, but as a 
branch of the historic Church that has blessings to con- 
fer upon the people of this land. 

XXIV. 

Music and Choirs. 

One of, the first things that arrests the attention of a 
stranger coming among us is the lai*ge use made of 



106 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



music in the services. He finds that a considerable part 
of the time occupied by an ordinary service is spent in 
singing. When he examines the Prayer Book he finds 
that many passages have before them the words : 
" Tlicn sludl he said or sung.^'' In one place he sees the 
direction, "Here followeth the Anthem," and in other 
places, "Here shall be sung a hymn.'^ 

As the stranger inquires further he finds that in some 
parishes the greater part of the service is rendered 
musicall}^, and in others that it is all rendered chorally, 
sung from beginning to end. 

Says Dr. Hallam : " The use of music as an element 
of devotion is well-nigh universal. It is found in all 
ages, and in connection with all forins of faith, and in 
the rudest as well as in the most advanced condition of 
human society. All human experience attests its fit- 
ness and power as a vehicle of sentiment and emotion, 
and as a means at the same time of sustaining and 
heightening the feelings which it is employed to ex- 
press." Says Bisliop Hooker: " The Church of Christ 
doth retain music as an ornament to God's service and 
a help to our own devotion." 

The noblest instrument of music is the human voice, 
but we find that the voice has usually been aided by 
other contrivances in the worship of God. Traces of 
the use of these instrumental helps are found in many 
places in the Scriptures. In the Psalms are allusions 
to harps, trumpets, shawms, lutes, aiid cymbals. In 
the tabernacle services, and then later in the Temple, 
there Avas provision made for instrumental accompani- 
ments. Although tliere is but littk^. if any. allusion 
made to instruments of music in tlie Ne^v Testam.ent as 
used by the early Chrli^l inns, we do ihitl in the Kevela- 
tion descriptions of luirpers with harps in hand singing 
in glory the songs of Moses and the Lamb. 



CONCKRMTNr; THE EPISCOPAL CIItTRCir. IQT 



The New Testament references to music are nmner- 
oiis. Our Lord sang witli His disciples a Psalm on the 
night on which He was betrayed. Psalms and hymns 
and spiritual songs are spoken of by St. Paul in one of 
the Epistles. 

In the first Epistle to the Corinthians St. Paul urges 
the people to sing Yvith the Spirit vfhen they come to- 
gether for worship in the Church. St. Jamxes says, " Is 
any micrry ? let him sing Psalms. The word used in 
these New Testament instances signifies literally to 
touch or strike the chords, that is, to play on a stringed 
instrument as an accompaniment to the voice. It does 
not prove that musical instruments such as harps were 
actually used, but it suggests the thought. We have, 
however, historic e^T.dence that instruments besides the 
voice were used in early Christian worship. 

The organ which is now so generally used is an in- 
vention of Christian times, and dates back into the early 
centuries. The first distinct account of it is given by 
Canidorus in the sixth century. It has been greatly 
developed since then, and has become a most valuable 
aid to Christian devotion. 

In some of our parishes the harp has been reintro- 
duced, as well as other instruments, and there seem.s to 
be no valid objection to such a practice. Nothing, 
hoYv-ever, can take the place of vocal music, and no 
instrument should ever be used in such a way as to 
dominate the human voice. When anything else is 
used it must be simply as a.n aid to vocal effects, ex- 
cept, of course, in such places as are known usually as 
preludes, interludes, and postludes. Where the voices 
are to sing all other instruments are to be subordinated. 

One of the most ancient forms of Church music is the 
Plain Song, which consists of the recitation of parts 
of the service upon some easy note with a few simple 



108 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



cadences. Cliaiitiiig was the sacred music of the He- 
brews, and was soon adopted in the Christian Church. 
The earl}^ chants were probably very plain and simple, 
and became the basis of the Gregorian music of a later 
day, w^hich has long held an important place in Chris- 
tian worship. 

In our day chanting has become much more ornate 
and complicated, sometimes, indeed, departiug entirely 
from its early simplicity, but wdiether in its simple form 
or in its later ornamentation, it is well calculated for 
sacred use. 

The singing of sacred songs in meter was revived at 
the time of the Reformation on the continent of Europe. 
It is hardly probable that metrical Psalms and hymns 
began tlien, but they w^ere largely used, became popu- 
lar, and lielijed greatly in the spread of the reformed 
doctrines. 

The ideal of Christian music would be realized wmere 
every one has musical ability and uses it correctly to 
the glory of God; but inasnmcli as not all are able 
to sing or to play on musical instruments, choirs are 
found to be necessary. More than this, not only are 
they necessary to supply the lack of ordinary musical 
ability on the part of the people, but inasmuch as God's 
service deserves the best we can render, a well-trained 
choir has such an important place in the public services 
tiiat Ave may w^ell speak of "the sacred calling of a 
chorister." As a matter of history, we find that com- 
panies of singers to lead the music were of ancient use 
in the house of God. They were employed in the Jew- 
ish services. They have been emploj^ed from the ear- 
liest Christian times. Much discussion has been lield 
concerning the modern choir. Some persons have taken 
the view that nothing but congregational singing should 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 109 



be tolerated, and that if a choir be employed it must be 
simply to lead the people in singing. 

Inasmuch as the average musical ability of a congre- 
gation is but slight, this practically reduces the music 
to a few simple hymns and fewer chants. Everything 
else is ruled out. There is no place for the anthem, 
or for anything that requires any special study. All 
music of a high character is excluded. This view is 
seriously advocated by many. It must freely be ad- 
mitted that the great purpose of a choir is to lead the 
praises of the people, and that the great body of the 
music rendered must contemplate the active participa- 
tion of the people. But at the same time there is the 
need of trained leadership even for that, and there is 
also a large range of music which may be made helpf uL 
to the devotion of those w^ho listen, and hence the field 
for a choir. 

It is sad to see the neglect of music by ordinary con- 
gregations ; equally so to see a choir monopolize all the 
singing, and treat the congregation as if it were an im- 
pertinence on their part to open their lips. 

The congregation should be considered and the choir 
should be considered. Every ordinary service must 
have in it something that the people can sing if they 
will, and may have in it also something tliat only trained 
voices can render. 

There is great difference of use in the Episcopal 
Church of to-day in the kind of choirs employed. There 
are quartettes, double quartettes, choruses of men and 
women, choirs of children, combinations of choruses 
with quartettes, and, finally, choirs of men and boys. 
Each kind has its own advocates, and no doubt has its 
own merits. Of late years the progress of the vested- 
choir movement has been very marked, and the results 



110 



A IVrANFAL OF INFORMATlOl^ 



have been quite gratifying to tiie lovers of Anglican 
Cliurcli ninsie. Divested now of all the partisan signifi- 
cance which snch choirs were once thought to have, 
they a.re now^ found in a grea.t many parishes. 

Good results in devotional music seem to be secured 
by various kinds of choirs, so that it is unvdse to say that 
only one pa^rticular kind will suit the needs of all the 
Church. The matter should be left largely to the judg- 
ment of the clergyman in charge of the parish, for he, 
by the canons of the Church, is made responsible for 
the music. He cannot transfer his responsibility to 
any committee, or organist, or leader. He may have 
the assistance of persons skilled in music, but he must 
suppress everything that is irreverent in public ser- 
vices. In a word, the Church expects its Ministers to 
see to it that the music is devout, and that the Lord's 
sanctuary be not profaned by those who make use of 
music for purposes other than devotion. 

If the study of sacred music became part of the relig- 
ious education of every young person there would in 
time be nobler music in the Church on earth. 

But there is something more im^Dortant than the culti- 
vation of the art of singing, and that is the making 
melody/ in our hearts to the Lord. AYhether the music 
be simple or elaborate, it is an empty offering if the 
heart be not in it. 'sVe are to be real in adoration as in 
everything else. We are not to pretend to worship God. 
Our worship must be sincere. He penetrates to the 
very spirit of ail we do, and knows wliether or not we 
are setting forth His praise or merely gratifying our own 
love of pleasant sounds. 

Praise is the highest act of men in this life, as it is 
the closest approximation to the glory of another life, 
and will be its chief emplopnent and delight through 
all its unending ages.'^ 



C(J^X^ERXING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. HI 



XXV. 

How Candidates are trained for the Sacred 
Ministry. 

The Ministry of this Church is a sacred calling. No 
one is permitted to exercise its functions until he is 

first called, tried, examined, and known to have such 
qualities as are requisite for the same, and also ^y pub- 
lic prayer with imposition of hands is approved and 
admitted thereto by lawful authority. 

A man cannot take upon himself this office and de- 
clare that he is a Minister, nor is it within the power of 
a circle of friends to elect him as their religious teacher 
and clothe him with ministerial povrers. There is a regu- 
lar process of preparation, and then of careful examina- 
tion, and finally of ordination, before one can become a 
Minister in this Church. The object of all this scrutiny 
and study, of all the formalities which must be complied 
with, and, above all, of the ordination itself, is to pro- 
tect the Chm^ch from the intrusion of imworthy persons, 
and to make sure, so far as may be, that tliey vrlio min- 
ister to the people in holy things are qualified to do so. 

In some religious bodies there is nothing to prevent a 
man who has some fluency in making religious ad- 
dresses, gathering about him a congregation, and be- 
coming their Minister. He may claim no authority ex- 
cept that he believes himself called to this position by 
the Divine Spirit. Inasmuch as no one can verify his 
call, there is nothing but his own assertion of the fact 
to give him standing as a teacher. The process is very 
different in this Church, for not only must the man be- 
lieve himself to have received a divine call to the ]Min- 
istry, but lie must present proof of it by undertakiuo- a 
course of preparation, and hy meeting the requirements 



112 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



of scholarship and piety. This plan is as wholesome 
for the candidate as it is for the people, because he may 
have been mistaken as to the call itself, or, if not, he 
certainly needs to be well furnished for his work before 
he enters upon it. No one who is eager to do the Lord's 
work in this important office can complain because the 
Church requires him to present testimonials that others 
believe him to be a suitable person, and also requires 
him to do what in him lies, with the help of others, to 
acquire proficiency. 

The divine call to the Ministry precedes in im- 
portance and in time all other preparation. It is not 
enough that one study theology, but he must be sure 
that the sacred Ministry is the vocation to which the 
Lord has appointed him. This divine call may be made 
known in various ways. It may come to one in the form 
of an intense desire to be useful, to make the best pos- 
sible use of his life and all its powers for the glory of 
God and the welfare of men. Such desire may lead him 
to look around over possible avenues of usefulness until 
at length he is persuaded that the highest and best for 
him is the Ministry. 

Reaching this conclusion, his mind may become set- 
tled in the determination to offer himself to the Lord. 
The desire to be useful, the subsequent investigation of 
the fields, and finally the determination to qualify him- 
self for this office — all combined constitute his call. 
Another may be led by a series of indications of God's 
will to a similar result. He may find himself in posses- 
sion of certain as yet undeveloped qualifications. He 
may have the advice of judicious friends who know^ all 
his history, and the way may be providentially opened 
for his taking up his studies. 

A third may have an experience differing from either 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 113 

of these. He may distrust liis own qualities; he may 
find his pathway hedged up with difficulties ; he may 
not regard himself as at all a suitable person for such 
holy work ; and yet deep down in his soul is something 
he can hardly describe, something that keeps his mind 
fLxed upon this work, something that impels him onward 
toward it. 

The Holy S^Dirit does not always move men in the 
same way, but one of the first requisites is that the 
candidate be moved by the Spirit to seek this office. 
Unless one really believes he has been led by the Holy 
Ghost, he is out of place in the Ministry, and its duties 
are heavy and most grievous burdens to him. When 
one has reason to think he has been called by the Lord, 
his next step is to go on with his preparation. This 
consists of two parts, the training of the mind and the 
training of the religious nature. 

Although a full collegiate course is not required by 
the laws of this Church as preliminary to entrance upon 
theological studies, and although a considerable propor- 
tion of the Ministers of to-day are not college graduates, 
it is nevertheless very desirable that a full course in 
college be taken if it be possible. 

The great hindrance in the case of some who desire to 
enter the Ministry is their lack of means to defray the 
expenses of a long course of study in college and semi- 
nary. Some have found it possible by teaching all va- 
cation time, and by literary or other work carried on in 
extra hours, to pay their way, but it has been at the risk 
of injury to health and of detriment to their progress in 
other ways. To meet the ease of students who do not 
have the means to defray the cost of an education, there 
are scholarships in our Church colleges and theological 
schools, and besides these, education societies, by which 



114 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



financial help is loaned or given. It is possible now for 
a,ny worthy young man who gives evidence of having 
fair ability and studious habits to secure such assistance 
as will enable him to complete the required studies. 

Although a college course is not essential, however 
desirable, the Church does require all candidates for the 
priesthood to attain a high standard of scholarship. 
They must have a good sound education, and be men- 
tally competent to take up the studies of the theological 
course. When ordained they must be able to instruct 
the people committed to their care. The whole ten- 
dency of the Church's laws and usages is to demand an 
educated Ministry, and to discourage ignorance. 

Nevertheless, in order to meet the varied require- 
ments of the day and the age, a lesser degree of scholar- 
ship may be accepted for those who aspire only to be 
deacons, or who, becoming deacons, make up by several 
years of study the requirement for entering the priest- 
hood. Here and there are men in business or in some 
other calling Avho have resolved to consecrate themselves 
to God in the holy Ministry. They have had a fair educa- 
tion and much experience. Their minds are matured 
and their religious habits fixed. There are avenues of 
usefuhiess open for them, and they are ready to do all 
they can for the Lord. They desire to begin at once. 

It is not necessary to send them first to a prepara- 
tory school, then to college, and afterward to a divinity 
school, to spend in all eight or nine years in prepara- 
tion. For such persons admission to the diaconate is 
possible^after they have gained sufficient knowledge of 
the Bible ar.d Prayer Book and have com^plied with a 
few other conditions. 

Exceptional cases call for special treatment, and all 
cases reqiure tlie advice of tlie Kector or the Bishop. 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL ClirRCII. tl5 



The young man wlio feels within him the ciesire to be- 
come a Minister should confer freely vvitli his Rector, 
who, if he encourages him to go on, may bring his case 
to the notice of the Bishop. 

Very rarely is any man able to decide for himself just 
what education he needs, and where and how he is to 
get it. He should welcome the guidance of those in 
authority whose interest in him and whose experience 
make them safer guides than his own judgment vrould be. 

The study of theology (as the general course of the 
candidate is called after he has finished his literary 
studies) ushers the man into the most interesting and 
most perplexing realm of investigation. He has before 
him profound topics and great mysteries. Every fac- 
idty of mind is fully engaged. The fields of research 
are found to be so nimierous, that after the student has 
spent three years at hard study he realizes that he has 
only just begun. Very great and greatly diversified 
are the treasures of learning which the candidate finds 
spread out before him. So large are they that he mtist 
be a student for life. He enters a calling that demands 
unceasing intellecttial actiAuty, and in which the chan- 
nels for such activity are always numerotis. Tlie theo- 
logical student realizes that the Ministry is a profession 
that demands continuotis sttidy, and that one of the best 
results of his fevv^ years' connection with a seminary is 
that he is prepared to begin to be a sttident. 

With which of the theological seminaries ttnder the 
auspices of this Chtirch the student should connect liim- 
self is best decided after getting the advice of his Eector 
and his Bishop. 

It is very dilncult to describe the spirit tial training for 
the sacred Miiiistry, vrhile it is really mtich more im- 
portant than any other part of a sttident's preparation. 



116 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



Suffice it to say that thi'ough the Holy Ghost the 
soul of the candidate is sanctified for his future v>^ork. 
He is not made perfect. He is not sinless. He may 
blunder and fall far short of even his own ideal, but if 
he have been at all receptive of the gracious influences 
of the Lord and Giver of Life, he has made some ad- 
vance in the religious life, and has grown better able to 
be the guide and helper of others. 

Unless there be this spiritual preparation the future 
efforts of the Minister cannot be fruitful, nor can he 
love his work as he seeks to do it. Above all others, 
the Ministers of Christ should be men of sincere and 
earnest piety. No learning, no ability in any direction, 
can compensate for the lack of a full spiritual consecra- 
tion of the man. 

XXVI. 

The Calling and Settling of Ministers. 

There are three orders of Ministers in this Church — 
Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. 

The Bishops supervise the work of the Church in the 
dioceses and missionary jurisdictions. 

The Priests, otherwise called Presbyters, have charge 
of parishes and missions, and the Deacons are, in 
theory, the assistants to the Priests, althougli they are 
sometimes given independent charge. 

When a new Bishop is to be selected, it is done in 
one of 'two ways. If he is to rule over a regularly or- 
ganized diocese, the clergy and lay representatives of 
the parishes in that diocese select by vote some priest 
whom they deem suitable. In the case of missionary 
jurisdictions not yet organized as dioceses, the House 
of Bishops nominate the new Bishop. After a Bishop has 



COXCEliXlXG T!IE EPJSCUl'AI, ClU'iiC!!, 



117 



been chosen, l)efore lie can be conseemted the choice 
must be confirmed by the Bishops Miid the representa- 
tives of the different dioceses. Xo one can become a 
Bishop till he is thirty years old. 

If his election has been regularly approved as aljove 
stated, he is formally consecrated to his office in liie 
manner j^rovided for in the Prayer Book. (See Ofiice 
for Consecration of a Bishop.-') 

Occasionally some Missionary Bishop may be called 
from his jurisdiction to take charge of a diocese, and 
in this case, of course, no consecration service is used 
when he enters upon his new field of labor, as he is 
already a Bishop. 

The, support of Diocesan Bishops is provided for by 
assessments upon the parishes, or by the income of en- 
dowment funds, and by voluntary gifts, or by all these 
methods. Sometimes, in the case of feeble dioceses, 
part of his support may be derived from his salary as 
Rector of a parish. 

The Missionary Bishops receive a salary from the 
Board of Missions until their jurisdictions are able to 
support them. 

A Bishop holds his office for life, and, except in the 
case of a Missionary Bishop, cannot leave his diocese to 
accept another. 

The city wliej^e the Bishop lives is known as the See 
City, and sometimes his diocese takes its name after 
that city, although in this country at present most of 
the dioceses have the names of tlie States vvdth Avhose 
territory they are coterminous. Sometimes when the 
diocese is divided the parts are known as ''Eastern," 
Western, Xorthern," Southern," or 'X'entral," 
prefixed to the name of the State. 

The Bisliop is at the head of his body of clergy and 



118 



A MANUAL OF IXFORMATION 



is the chief pastor of the parishes, missions^ and insti- 
tutions in his clioeese. 

The Priests, or Presljyters, constitute the second rank 
of tlie Ministry, "being required to pass through the first 
rank, that of deacons, before their ordination to the 
priesthood. 

"When a regularly organized parisli wislies to call a 
Minister to fill a vacancy in its rectorship, it is usually 
done by vote of the Vestry. In some places it is by the 
vote of the congregation, but the former is the usual 
method. The ^^call." as it is termed, is the oflS.cial 
notice from the parish l^y the Clerk of the Vestry, or 
other proper officer, to the rector elect, and in it is 
usually specified the salary attached to the position vritli 
such other details as may be thought necessary. If the 
call is accepted the Bishop is notified, and arrangements 
may be made for the institution of the uctt Minister. 
(See Office in the Prayer Book.) 

This institution service, however, is not always or 
even frequently used, although its use is becoming more 
common among us than it once was. It furnishes spe- 
cial opportunity for offering prayers for God's blessing 
upon the new incumbent, and it seems to fasten the 
boml between Minister and people, and to cause both 
parties to look forward to its being perj)etuated, unless 
tJiore are very weighty reasons for dissohung it. It 
makes it necessary, moreover, when a seioaration is de- 
sired, to secure the Bishop's consent to it before it can 
be consummated. 

There are various i^lans proi^osed for imiDroving the 
method of securing Rectors for parishes. One is to re- 
vive the old method of placing the nomination in the 
hands of the Bishop. In all cases it is proper to notify 
the Bishop so soon as a vacancy occurs^ and to ask his 
adduce in filling it. 



CONCEENING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



119 



Appointments to mission stations in a diocese are 
usually made by the Bishop and the Board of Mis- 
sions, or by the latter with the concurrence of the 
Bishop. 

Beacons belong to the first, beginning, rank in the 
Ministry, and are under the Bishop's direction. Their 
diaconate should ordinarily be spent as assistants to 
the Presbyters in parishes and missions, their special 
work being the care of the poor, the instruction of the 
young, and as helpers in the public services. Owing to 
tlie great demand for Ministers, deacons are often put 
in charge of important fields. 

The proper support of the Ministers of the Church 
should be very near to the heart of every Churchman. 
The clergy are entitled to such support as will enable 
them to devote their time and energies to the spiritual 
interests of their people. It is not well for the parish 
itself to compel the Rector to live in poverty, or to re- 
sort to some outside labor to eke out his salary. 

His best efforts and all his efforts are needed if the 
work of the parish is to be advanced, and it is a pity to 
let him be hampered by narrow means, or weighted 
down by debt. 

If Christian people were to adopt the rule of giving a 
fair proportion of their income to the Church for relig- 
ious and benevolent uses, there would be no imderpaid 
clergymen and no empty treasuries. 

The ability of parishes to support their Ministers will 
vary, of course, with the number of the people and their 
resources. Not all parishes are alike in this respect, 
but it will be found generally that where proper effort 
is made a rectory can be built, bought, or rented, and a 
salary contributed proportionate to the Rector's needs, 
so that he may do his religious work free from the cor;- 
stant pressure of planning how to spread out a too 



120 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



slender income over many demands, and free from tlio 
temptation to look for more remunerative fields. 

XXVII. 

Places of Worship. 

Especial attention has been given by this Church to 
the proper construction and ornamentation of its houses 
of worship. There are some good reasons for this. 

1st. A place of worsliip is to be regarded as sacred. 
Being devoted to the holiest uses, and being the place 
where the holiest affections of our nature are stirred, 
a church edifice cannot be thought of as an ordinary 
house. It is incongruous to use it for common or 
worldly or unhallowed purposes. Even things which 
are innocent in themselves are out of place in a build- 
ing set apart for the purposes of religion. 

2d. A place of n'orship is peculiarhj the lioitse of God. 
It is erected for the glory of God. In an important 
sense it is a monument of Plis goodness to men, and 
besides this, it is where His presence is manifested in 
an especial manner to the souls of those who seek Him. 
Yv 0 do not deny that God meets those who come to- 
gether anywhere in His name. We do not say that His 
presence is found only in the church, but, in the lan- 
guage of the Consecration Office, here are men's minds 
filled with greater reverence for His sacred Majesty and 
the-ir hearts more affected with devotion and humility 
in His service.^' 

3d. A place of worslilj) brings to the eye reminders of 
sacred things. A properly constructed and properly 
arranged church building teaches the truths of our re- 
demption to the Qje, and the eye is a gateway to the 
soul. The building, to accomplish this result, need not 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CIIURCH. 



121 



be magnificent in its proportions or elaborate in its 
adornments. The simple wooden cliapel may be an elo- 
quent teacher of Christian truth. There is in every 
case the opportunity for the use of honest materials, 
and for the employment of the sanctified skill and taste 
of the designers of the building. 

When one goes into an Episcopal church arranged 
according to the traditions of ecclesiastical architecture 
and the demands of our services, he finds very promi- 
nently placed at one end of the chancel the Holy Tahlc, 
or Altar, and that tells the story of the great central 
fact of Christianity, viz., the sacrifice of the Son of God 
on the cross for man's redemption. He sees also near 
one of the entrances to the building the Font, v/hich 
tells of the way of entrance into the Family of God by 
Holy Baptism. The Pulpit speaks of the teaching func- 
tion of the Church. The Prayer Deslc tells of the united 
prayer which all classes are to use. The Lecturn, bear- 
ing upon it the Sacred Scriptures, directs the thoughts 
to God's revelation of His natui-e and of man's relation- 
ship to Him. The Clioir scats speak of the duty of 
praise and thanksgiving. 

If the walls of the building be decorated, its windows 
filled with bright colors, and Christian emblems and de- 
vices placed here and there, the eye Vvdierever it turns 
takes in some impressions of beauty and gathers some 
spiritual instruction. 

One of the most interesting of the special services in 
the Prayer Book is that provided for the consecration 
of a church or chapel. On the day appointed for this 
event the Bishop and clergy enter the building reciting 
the 24th Psalm. UiDon reaching the chancel the docu- 
ments containing the deed of gift and the request to 
consecrate the building are read. After which the 



122 



Bishop with exhortations and prayers and benedictions 
proceeds to set the biiikiing apart for its sacred uses, 
and then causes to be read a Sentence of Consecration, 
in which are declared the purposes for which the build- 
ing has been erected and the solemn dedication of it to 
these purposes. 

The interest felt by a congregation and their friends 
on such an occasion may be intensiiied by the remem- 
brance of great self-denial and of long-continued efforts 
to secure the means for the work now" liappily brought 
to an end, or possibly by the gratitude evoked toward 
some benefactor who has at his own cost erected the 
building for the glory of God. 

One of the most touching occasions is tlie consecra- 
tion of a memorial church designed to perpetuate the 
memory of some disciple of the Lord, while it provides 
facilities for carrying on the Lord's work. How noble 
are memorials of this kind, and liow strange that more 
of them are not built ! 

A word as to the naming of clinrclics. The usage 
among us has been to adopt such names as would set 
forth some Christian truth, or some title or attribute of 
the Lord, or commemorate some sacred event or per- 
petuate the memory of some holy person. 

Thus, under the first head come the following names : 
''The Atonement,-' ''The Pteconciliation,'' "The Re- 
demption. Under the second: '' r.Iediator," "Holy 
Ledeemer," "Our merciful Saviour," "Good Shepherd/' 
" Emmanuel." Under the third : " The Annunciation," 
" The Nativity, " " Transfiguration," " Crucifixion, " 
"Resurrection," "Ascension." Under the last: "St. 
Paul's," "St. Andrew's," "St. John's," "St. David's," 
"All Saints." 

In addition to names that may be grouped under 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CIIUUCII. 



123 



these four classes, angelic existences have been com- 
memorated by such names as ''St. Michael's,'^ ''St. 
Gabriel's/^ and the Church Fathers, as "St. Ignatius," 
"St. Chrysostom," "St. Ambrose/' and "St, Augus- 
tine." 

Two appropriate names have been derived from the 
title and office of the Third Person of the blessed Trin- 
ity: "The Church of the Holy Spirit/' "The Blessed 
Comforter.'' 

It is impossible to compare such a list as this with 
the names adopted by some others without seeing hovv^ 
superior is the Church usage. " St. Paul's Church " is 
a nobler title than " The Eed Brick Meeting-house," and 
" The Church of the Holy Apostles " is certainly more 
euphonious than "The Sassafras Street Independent 
Society." 

And yet such names as the latter are partly the out- 
growth of a dread that some very erroneous doctrine 
may be taught or implied, or somehow encouraged, if 
the names of saints and angels, and especially of the 
blessed Virgin, become the names of our church edi- 
fices. People fear that it may lead to the supplication 
of these, or to the view that the building is under the 
direct patronage and protection of such and such a 
saint. There is no danger of the rise of such views 
from the adoption of the names referred to, and then it 
is something, surely, to escape the utterly secular and 
absurd titles which abound. 

XXVIII 

Symbolism and Ornamentation. 

This Church makes much use of Christian symbolism. 
It aims thus to speak to the soul through the eye as 



124 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



well as throTigli the ear. The early Christians were ac- 
customed to the use of symbols and form and color to 
express religious ideas, for these were a bundantly em- 
ployed in the Jewish temple and its services. The first 
converts to Christianity, who had been devout Jews, 
had before them the Temple, vrhich, although rebuilt, 
retained the great features of the plan given to David 
and first constructed by Solomon. The Temx>le fol- 
lowed the general divisions of the tabernacle, nnd the 
plan of the latter as well as the details of religious wor- 
ship had been revealed to Moses by the Lord. Being 
thus accustomed to symbolism, it became a matter of 
course when Christian worship was established, and es- 
pecially after Christian edifices were erected, to intro- 
duce such symbolism as would instruct and help the 
soul through tlie eye. In fact, ^^no doctrine of religion 
can take its outward act without the use of some sym- 
bolism." Thus, to kneel when we pray symbolizes 
humility, and to stand when we sing symbolizes glad- 
ness. 

The raising of the hands to bless, the pouring of 
water in Baptism, tjie breaking of bread in the Com- 
munion, all symbolize Christian truths. 

There is no worship without the use of some symbol- 
ism. Even the silent worship of the Quaker, who con- 
demns all forms and sits in his unadorned meeting- 
house, is symbolical. He v/aits in silence the coming 
of the Holy Ghost. His very attitude is a symbol of 
expectation and of receptivity. The views sometimes 
heard in opposition to all ceremony in worship, to all 
adornrnxcnt of churches, and to all efiort to represent 
religious ideas to tlie eye, are utterly untenable, inas- 
much as there is no such thing as worship without cere- 
mony ; and beside.^ this, we have the example of the 



COXCERXIXG THE El'IS(,f)PAri riirKCH. 



12.-) 



Jewish Church and early Christian usage, "both in favor 
of symbolism. 

This opposition has originated partly in the rebound 
fi'om the excessive and erroneous ceremonialism of the 
Latin Church. In trying to avoid the false doctrines 
of Eomanism, some went to the extreme of trying to 
*)mit most of the outward expressions of reverence and 
.^aith and devotion. Their modes of worship became 
bald, their places of worship were denuded of orna- 
ment, and the eye-gate " to the soul w^as well-nigh 
closed. These old errors of an earlier day have steadily 
influenced the descendants of those who originated them, 
so that even in our time there are many who are prej- 
udiced against what they call '^the externalisms of re- 
ligion." 

It must freely be admitted that the invrard and spir- 
itual part is always more important than any outward 
and visible sign, but there need not be any separation 
of the two, and there will not be any separation if we 
seek to be genuine. 

"We have a spiritual religion. God is a Spirit. He is 
to receive spiritual homage. But while we render this 
worship of the soul, it has to be done while the soul is 
in the body, and hence there are outward and visible 
manifestations of the worshiping, homage-paying spirit. 

But in addition even to this, v/e must never overlook 
the fact that as God the Father is the Creator of the 
human body, as God the Son came to us in our human- 
ity, and as God the Holy Ghost dwells in the human 
body and makes it His temple — therefore the body must 
have its part in the worship of God. It must not be 
ignored. 

The Episcopal Church has been of inestimable value 
to the world in retaining a proper amount of dignified 



126 



A MAXUAL OF INFORMATION 



symbolism in vrorsliip, and in checking the errors 
which, nnder the gnise of zeal for spirituality, have 
threatened to deprive spirftnal religion of its helpful 
agents and also of its out^vard manifestations. 

The three prominent facts which are worthy of spe- 
cial notice in this connection are these : 

1st. The Episcopal Church has always tried to con- 
struct its churches and chapels in such way that iliey 
icould he aiiiiroprldtc to fliclr religious vses, and then to 
forlDid their being used for secular purposes. 

The Church is the liouse of God. It is built for sa- 
cred uses. It should indicate its uses by its outlines and 
decoration, so that when one sees its cross-capped spire, 
or its cruciform shape, or its enduring materials, and 
especially when he enters its doors and sees its altar, 
and font, its lecturn and pulpit, he can say, This is 
the house of God.'' 

Whatever exigencies of construction have controlled 
the builders, and hov%'ever individual tastes have varied, 
there has alwa^ys been something about an Episcopal 
clmrch that made its appeal to the eye as an attempt 
to embody in the form and arrangement of the mate- 
rial fabric the sacred facts of Christianity. 

2d. It has always tauglit reverence and encouraged 
faitli hy the vostures observed in times of jruhlic icorsliip. 
Its Minister and jDeople must kneel at certain stages in 
the service. At others they must stand. Here they 
are to draw near to the font, here to the altar, now they 
kneel to receive the consecrated elements, and now to 
listen to the benediction. Besides these, the uncom- 
manded usages in this Church have been in the same 
direction. 

At the mention of tlie name of Jesus in the r'reod n 
usage is to low the head, thus to express belief in the 



CONCERXIXr, TTTE EPISOOPAL CHURCH. 127 



true divinity of our Saviour. Deei^ly impressive is tiiis 
act, and altliough not required in tiie American Church 
by authority, it is becoming a very general usage of 
those who think it important in some such way to tes- 
tify their belief that the Son of Man is also the Son of 
God. Very God of very God.^^ 

Another usage is that of Jcneeling in silent prayer at 
the beginning and ending of each service, to seek the 
blessing of God upon the clergyman and the worshipers, 
and to bring our own individual needs to His notice. 
How different is this from the noisy entrance and hur- 
ried departure, the irreverent conduct of many in other 
places ! 

A third usage is that of rising eis the clergyman enters 
and departs. It means respect for the holy office of the 
Ministry. It also shows our readiness to engage with 
him in the solemnities of vrorship as he comes to us, 
and our thankfulness for the privileges w^e have enjoyed 
as he passes out. This usage is not enjoined by author- 
ity, and it is not everywhere in vogue, but as it is free 
from all objection man7v congregations have adopted it. 

A fourth usage is standing at the time of the presen- 
tation of the offerings. Recent changes in the Prayer 
Book permit the singing of a hymn or sentence at the 
time the offerings are placed upon the altar, but whether 
tliere is any singing or not, the rising at that time of 
the congregation emphasizes the truth that all we have 
is the Lord's, and we have given to Him of His own. . 

There are other usages adopted in some parishes, 
some being the revival of ancient customs of the Church 
dating back to very early days, but they are not speci- 
fied here because they have not become general in the 
American Church of to-day. Nor is any opinion ex- 
IDressed here of their lawfulness or expediency. In- 



128 



A MANtAL OF INFORMATION 



formation respecting sucn usages may be obtained from 
manuals prepared for the purpose. 

The last topic to be treated under the general head- 
ing of this chapter is that of ornament or decoration. 
The terms apply both to the material fabric and to the 
services. The aim in the Episcopal Church is to beau- 
tify the house of God, and also to beautify the worship 
of God. 

The interior of one of our church edifices shows at 
once that something has been done to ornament it. 
Very rarely do we find an interior devoid of color, or of 
some adornment. Perhaps a simple cross, or a vase of 
flowers, or a window of stained glass, or an illuminated 
text from the Scriptures may be all there is, but even 
the simplest attempt at decoration becomes a protest 
against the careless irreverence that treats the house of 
God as if it were an ordinary place of assembly. 

With the growth of architectural skill and of artistic 
ability, but especially with a better appreciation of 
the value of symbolism, the interiors of our churches 
become teachers of truth. The eye beholds form and 
color, and the meaning of these appeals to the soul. 
Tliink of the impressions created upon a receptive re- 
ligious nature as, week by week, it comes into a well- 
tirranged and properly decorated church — the colored 
hangings, changed from time to time to mark the 
changes of the Christian seasons ; the altar, prepared 
for the celebration of the Memorial Feast; the font, 
ready for use if a candidate for Baptism be ready ; win- 
dows glowing with color, and pictures with religious 
emblems or with figures of saints and angels and mar- 
tyrs ; the lecturn, with its open Bible from which sa- 
cred lessons are to be read ; the prayer desks, at which 
the officiating ministers are to lead the devotions of the 



CONCERNING THE Et^ISCOPAL CHURCH. 129 

people ; the rows of clioir seats for the singers, and the 
organ ready to respond to the touch of the musician. 

Is it any wonder that a worshiper accustomed to all 
this should find himself helped and encouraged in his 
worship in such a place? Is it any wonder that the 
deepest attachment should grow toward such a place ? 
Is it any wonder that, engaging in holy rites in such a 
place, the pious soul should exclaim, This is the Gate 
of Heaven 

XXIX. 

Variations in the Use of the Church Services. 

The Book of Common Prayer sets forth the services 
which are to be used in our churches on occasions of 
public worship, but there are many variations in the 
use of such services. The most obvious difference is 
in the frequency icith which the services are held. Some 
churches are open only on the Lord^s Day and on such 
occasions as Christmas and Good Friday. Others are 
open on all Sundays and Holy Days. Still others have 
besides these a Wednesday or a Friday service, or both. 

The usage is growing among us, in large centers of 
population, to have daily Morning and Evening Prayer. 
Once but few churches were open regularly on all week- 
days. It is now no uncommon thing to find churches 
open for services at stated hours every day in the 
year. 

Provision is made in the Prayer Book for daily 
prayers. There are Lessons and Psalms appointed for 
each day. It is the continuation of a usage of the 
English Church, which has lasted now these many 
years, and which has the authority of the Jewish Church 
before it. 

There are those to whom the daily service brings daily 



130 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



comfort. The stranger traveling from place to place 
finds a welcome in tlie open cliurcli. The aged and in- 
firm delight to listen to the familiar prayers. The sad 
and the weary find solace in the reminders of rest be- 
yondj and the strong and vigor ons learn that it is well 
to panse awhile in the hurry and rush of the day's work, 
to remember eternal things. An open church and daily 
13rayers welcome all these classes to do them good. 
But besides this testimony is borne that God is worthy 
to be praised, and that day by day He should be mag- 
nified. With reference to attendance at services on 
Sundays or at any other time, it is to be noted that 
worship can be rendered to God and the worshipers can 
receive blessings from Him if but a few persons are 
present. A large congregation is not a prerecjuisite for 
the integrity and usefulness of a service, and yet people 
stay away because, say they, There will not be many 
present.'' 

Our Saviour's promise certainly covers the smallest 
congregation. He did not say He would be with them 
only when a great number assembled, but Avherever 
there were two or three who came together in His 
name. The two or three will not go empty away, and 
then, too, they have done their part in honoring their 
Lord. 

The next point of difference is in tlie liours at Kliicli 
fiie services are said. There is more uniformity, per- 
haps, in the morning than in the later hours, but really 
not very great uniformity even in the morning. In one 
parish there will be Morning Prayer, Litany, and Holy 
Communion all combined in one ser^dce, and lasting, 
with the sermon, from half -past ten o'clock to beyond 
half -past twelve. In the next there will be an early 
^celebration of the Holy Communion, and then later the 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 131 

Morning Prayer. While in a third the Morning Prayer 
is said at nine o'clock, the Holy Communion later, and 
the Litany in the afternoon. 

Evening Prayer is said in different parishes at hours 
varying all the way from three o'clock in the afternoon 
up to eight o'clock at night. 

It is impossible and very undesirable to have the 
same hours of service in every parish. The conven- 
ience of the people and many other matters have to 
be considered. There are no canonical hours in this 
country ; each parish can therefore suit itself as to the 
times of holding services. As it is difficult in some par- 
ishes to find any one hour that is equally satisfactory to 
all, the plan has been adopted of appointing services at 
different hours, as, for example, one Communion cele- 
bration at 8 A.M. and another at 11 a.m., the Litany at 
3 P.M., and Evening Prayer at 8 p.m. The number of 
services to be held in a parish is to be decided by the 
Rector, who is governed in his decision by what he be- 
lieves will be for the spiritual v»^elfare of his people. 

It must be remembered, too, that a parish with but 
one clerical worker must differ in the number of its 
services from another where there may be two or 
more clergymen in charge. 

The third point of variation is in tlie degree of atten- 
tion given to detciils. There is a great difference be- 
tween a service carefully prepared for and arranged 
and another to which but little thought has been given 
in advance. 

It would seem that when we consider the dignity of 
the Lord whom we are to worship, and that worship 
itself is one of the highest privileges in which man 
can engage, there would never be smy lack of suitable 
preparation made, It wpuld seem tlip-t ^yliateyer yfould 



132 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



prove a distraction would be removed, and that what- 
ever would help would be secured if possible. 

Some services are more helpful than others because 
they have been well arranged for and all the details 
have been settled in advance. It is a peculiarity of 
some parishes, distinguishing them from others, that 
the worshiper is helped by seeing that the service in 
which he takes part has been planned for helping him. 
It has no haphazard, confused, uncertain look about it. 

Another variation is in the cnricliment of the services 
1)1) the aid of iniisic. Services may be rendered without 
music, or the music may be of the very plainest char- 
acter, but it is possible so to beautify and dignify them 
by the aid of music that they become noble offerings to 
the Lord and helpful aids to devotion. The musical 
elaboration of a service will depend upon what ability 
can be found and utilized in a parish, and also upon the 
capacity of a congregation to appreciate it. 

It must not be thought that all parishes will be helped 
by a beautiful musical service. The tastes and pre- 
vious training of the people must be considered. "What 
would be most delightful and elevating in one place 
would not be so in another. A service appropriate in 
a cathedral may not be appropriate in the village 
chapel. 

XXX. 

The Significance of Details in the Church Services. 

It cannot escape the notice of those who study the 
Prayer Book that there is a great deal of minutiae in the 
(iirections given as to the performance of divine serv- 
ices. 

They find a multitude of rubrics prefixed to the dif 
ferent parts, stating how this and that should be done. 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 133 



wliat the people are to do, and what the Minister is 
to do, what part shall be taken by a Bishop if he be 
l^resent, and so on. 

Then, too, they will hear questions discussed which 
perhaps they have never considered before, questions re- 
lating to postures, to reading and singing, to the proper 
time to do this and that, and how it is best done. 

^^Why is all of this care necessary?" they ask. 
^' Why not leave it to the judgment or the fancy of the 
people ? " " Why place so much stress upon details ? " 

The answer is that this Church deems these matters 
important because they have their significance. 

First of all, everything must be important that is as- 
sociated with the worship of God, and the Church re- 
gards the great purpose of the assembling together 
week by week as the rendering of homage to the Lord. 
This view, that the primary purpose of a Christian gath- 
ering is for the worship of God, is not always held, or is 
not made prominent if held, by all Christians. 

Preaching has been pressed into such prominence that 
sometimes gatherings are called '^Preaching Services/' 
and people speak of going to hear sermons instead of 
going to worship God, 

The object of preaching is to convey the truth of God 
to the souls of men and so to help them to become wor- 
shipers. It is vastly important. It must not be under- 
valued. At the same time, it must not be permitted to 
loom up so as to destroy the very object it has in view. 
Unless the preaching lead men to be worshipers or help 
them to be such, it has not attained its purpose. This 
Church emphasizes the duty of all men to be devout 
worshipers of the Lord. 

2d. In the worship of God whatever is done must he 
with a reverence befitting the majesty of the Being tuor- 



134 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



sliiped. We are not rushing forward to hold converse 
with an equal. We are coming to the Lord of heaven 
and of earth, infinitely above us but ever graciously 
near us. It is dishonoring to Deity to permit a care- 
less, perfunctory reading of w^ords on the one hand, or 
a mere gaudy spectacle on the other, and from both 
these extremes we shall be kept if we try to realize the 
ideal of worship set before us in the directions given in 
the Prayer Book. The order set forth and the details 
that go with it, if observed in the spirit in which they 
are given^ will help us to come into the Divine Pres- 
ence reverently. 

Think now of some of these details. 1st. It is to he 
an audible worsliip. There are words to be spoken and 
read, and responses to be made. Why not have a silent 
service? Wliy not summon the people to spend an 
hour together in silent meditation and prayer? An 
audible ser\dce is helpful because thought and feeling 
are excited through what the ear receives, and, most of 
all, we realize more vividly the existence of the Divine 
Being by addressing "words to Him. We contemplate 
the possibility of His hearing us even though our eyes 
see Him not, and so there comes to us a realization of 
His existence and of His spiritual presence. We talk 
to Him. Every prayer offered, every psalm or hymn 
sung is an act of faith in the existence of a personal 
God as well as a call upon our spiritual natures to be 
possessed of the thoughts and emotions proper to be 
had in connection with the truths heard by the ear. 

2d. Tlw service is not only to he an audihle one, hut it is 
to he visihJe. The eye is interested. Certain require- 
ments direct the movements of the clergyman. Thus 
he is to stand now in one place, now in another. He 
is to break the bread in the Communion, to take the 



/ 



CONCERNlxr, THE KPISCOPAL CIIUECII. 



135 



cup into his hand. He is to pour water into the font 
for Baptism, and then hiter on to pour it upon the one 
to he baptized. Yfhen offerings are made he is to pre- 
sent them upon the Holy Table. 

"Why are these changes of posture, standing and 
kneeling, and these gestures, and the like, which the 
people are to see with their eyes ? Why are the people 
themselves called upon to observe certain postures ? 

The answer to all these questions is that the mind 
and the heart are to be reached also through the eye 
as well as through the ear, and hence every attitude 
and gesture have their significance in setting forth a 
religious truth. Take, for exam]3le, the placing of the 
offerings upon the Holy Table — how clearly it teaches 
thajt our gifts are made to the Lord. The imposition 
of the Bishop's hands upon the heads of those con- 
firmed show it is a testimony to the eye of that bless- 
ing of the Lord w^hich is invoked. One important truth 
also brought to notice by these bodily attitudes and. 
gestm^es is that the body has its part in the worship of 
God. True spirituality does not ignore the presence 
and the co-operation of the body in adoring the Lord. 

3d. Certain things in divine icorsJiij? are to he done dy 
certain versons. Why cannot any one do them? Here 
the Minister is to do this, and here the people. Why 
not exchange the parts? The answer to this is that 
leadership in worship has always been recognized in 
Christianity. Some are set apart for this leadership, 
are made Ministers. Hence the Declaration of Absolu- 
tion can be made only by a priest. The Church recog- 
nizes a priesthood of the laity, but it also understands 
that there must be some to whom authority is given by 
Holy Orders to declare the mercy of God to the peni- 
tent and believing, Aiid so in the administration of 



136 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



the Sacraments and in the pronouncing of the Benedic- 
tion of Peace. 

If any one objects to this distinction, his quarrel is 
with the existence of the Ministry itself, and with the 
functions exercised by it from the beginning. 

There is thus a reason for all these details in the 
mode of conducting divine worship. The one great de- 
sign is to help us come into the presence of God in a" 
way befitting His divine Majesty, and to gain from such 
worship helps and inspiration toward living lives of 
devotion to His service. There is nothing needless or 
superstitious in these details, and nothing contrary to 
the truths of the Gospel. Our wisdom consists in sub- 
mitting to these directions, not in following our own 
whims and fancies, but in going on in the way in which 
holy men of old found delight and satisfaction in draw- 
ing near to God, and in finding that He came near to 
them. 

XXXI. 

The Relationship of the Church to Holy Scripture. 

Many uninstructed persons have the notion that the 
New Testament was given as a whole and that the 
Christian Church grew out of it, just as a king may 
grant a charter to a colony and thereupon the people 
would set up a government and develop it in accord- 
ance with the provisions of the charter. 

The growth of the Christian Church was in a very 
different way from this. It started out without any 
written charter. Its Faith was derived from our Sav- 
iour Christ and from the apostles whom He had com- 
missioned. It was set forth in preaching and in sacra- 
ments, and embalmed in simple liturgical forms and 
confessions before even a single chapter of the New 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 137 

Testament was written. There was an organized body 
before any collection of tlie sacred books was made. 

The Church, with its Creeds, its Sacraments, its 
modes of worship and its Ministry, would have gone 
on, probably, if no book had ever been written. It 
pleased God, however, to secure the accurate preserva- 
tion of the Faith and its wider diffusion among men, 
by inspiring some to write the Gospels and the other 
portions of the New Testament. 

In point of time the founding of the Church preceded 
the composition of the New Testament, and one impor- 
tant mission of the Church was to determine which of 
the many documents that grew up in the early days 
conformed to the Faith already received. ^^It was a 
noble duty with which the primitive Church was thus 
charged. To it, under God, belongs the honor due for 
the conservation and preservation of the oracles of 
God." It is the witness and the keeper of the Truth. 
If one say that he believes the Scriptures but rejects 
the Church, it would be as erroneous as to say that ho 
believes the Church but rejects the Scriptures. The 
Church being established, and having a definite outline 
of Faith, was able to determine whether these composi- 
tions agreed with what it had received from the apostles. 

At first there were no written accounts of the life and 
teachings of Christ, but the story w^as told by one to 
another as we see St. Peter preaching to the people in 
Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. By degrees this 
story was put into writing, and it is probable that there 
were many versions, some differing widely from others 
in accuracy. Out of the number four were recognized 
as inspired and therefore as correct. Then letters were 
written by apostles to individuals and to congrega- 
tions, and these were compared with the accepted 



138 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATIOX 



teaching. At first the different parts of the New Tes- 
tament were not all brought together in one collection. 
Some churches had one or more books, others had dif- 
ferent ones. Only by degrees were they brought to- 
gether to form one collection. 

We are not told by what T)rocess a writing was ex- 
amined and declared to be genuine and authentic, but 
the test must have been in all cases to ascertain if it 
agreed with the Faith which had already been received. 
As the Faith was in those early ages everj^liere the 
same, it was not difficult to decide whether a document 
professing to be inspired agreed with the deposit of 
Faith already in the Church. AMien, then, the canon 
of Scripture was complete, the two, the Church and the 
Scriptures, were in agreement. So strongly is this 
point believed now among us that one of our Articles 
declares ^^Holy Scripture containeth all things neces- 
sary to salvation, so that whatsoever is not read there- 
in nor may be proved thereby is not to be required of 
any man that it should be believed as an article of 
Faith or be thought requisite or necessary to salva- 
tion." The Church and the Scriptures teach the same 
things in all that is essential. 

But not only is there this agreement in all these 
matters which are vital, but we can claim that there is 
nothing in the government and the usages of this 
Church that is contrary to the teachings or the spirit 
of the Word of God. 

There are some features which distinguish this Church 
from some other religious bodies. If these features 
are unscriptural, they cannot be defended. Take, for 
example, the use of litur^^ieal forms, the retention of 
Episcopacy, the observance of the Cliristian Year, the 
wearing of a distinctive dress by om' Ministers when 



CONdERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

officiating, the administration of Baptism to infants, 
and Confirmation. Can it be shown that these are con- 
trary to the teachings of Sacred Scripture f 

No one has as yet succeeded in doing so. The 
strongest declaration which can be made is that these 
are not so clearly set forth as are such doctrines as 
faith and repentance, salvation through Christ, and the 
renewal by the Holy Spirit. 

No, they are not, but it is believed that three of the 
points above specified — Episcopacy, Infant Baptism, 
Confirmation — do have a positive Scriptural basis ; and 
the other two — the use of liturgies and vestments — may 
be upheld by Scriptural analogies. It is not necessary 
now to cite the arguments which may be drawn from 
Scripture in favor of these things which this Church 
retains ; the point now is that no one can show them to 
be contrary to the Scriptures. 

Very futile have been the efforts of old-time oppo- 
nents, and equally so the efforts of more modern antag- 
onists of this Church, to discredit its peculiarities by 
trying to show that they are opposed to the tenor of 
the Word of God. 

The Churchman's position is that not only are they 
not opposed by the Scriptures, but that they accord 
with the teachings of the Scriptures ; and that when 
primitive usage and the long-continued usage of the 
Christian Church are considered, this Church's ways 
are vindicated. 

It is, then, no small advantage to be connected with 
a religious body that has its roots far back in the prim- 
itive ages of Christianity, and that so accords with the 
teachings and the spirit of the Word of God. 

It seems very strange to us that persons who profess 
the greatest appreciation of the majesty of God's rev- 



140 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



elation, and who call themselves Bible Christians," 
should ever slight a Church which is so Scriptural in 
doctrines and usages. 

It is equally strange that others who profess to ac- 
cept the Scriptures as the ultimate authority in matters 
of faith should not appreciate a Church that holds in 
such high esteem the sacred oracles. 

The fact is that the Church as an institution has come 
down to us along with the Scriptures ; indeed, it is be- 
cause the Church exists that we have the Scriptures. 

XXXII. 
The Use of Sacred Scriptures. 

This Church reveres the Word of God. Nearly three 
fifths of the Prayer Book are taken from the Bible, and 
two fifths of the w^orship at each service are in the very 
words of the Scriptures. 

Take a Prayer Book and note the portions which are 
selected from the Scriptures. First of all there are the 
Psalms, occupying in an ordinary Prayer Book of 600 
pages over 200 pages. Then the Epistles and Gospels, 
occupying about 150 pages. Then the Sentences in the 
Morning and Evening Prayer, the Comfortable Words 
in the Communion Service, and the selections in each 
of the Ofiiees — making probably 75 pages more, so that 
it is proper to say that over three fifths of the Prayer 
Book are from the Scriptures. But beside this the Col- 
lects, the short prayers used in the Communion Office 
for the different Sundays and other Holy Days, are so 
called because they are collected from the Scriptures, 
or founded upon the sentiment of the selections for the 
particular occasions. 

At an ordinary Morning Service you will hear at least 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



141 



five cliapters of the Bible read, including the First 
Lesson from the Old Testament, the Second from the 
New, the Psalms for the day, and the Epistle and Gospel. 
At an Evening Service the equivalent of four chapters 
is read. Thus every one has the opportunity of listen- 
ing to God's Holy Word. The Church's deep regard for 
the Scriptures is set forth in varions places. 

Thus, in the Exhortation in Morning and Evening 
Prayer we are told that one object of our assembling 
together in God's house is that we may '^hear His most 
Holy Word.'^ One of the canons of the Church requires 
that ^'all persons within this Church shall celebrate 
and keep the Lord's Day in hearing the Word of God 
read and taught." 

One of the purposes for which a church edifice is 
consecrated is ^^for reading thy Holy Word." 

These quotations gain additional force when con- 
sidered in connection with the doctrine contained in 
the opening part of the Gth of the Thirty-nine Articles, 
viz., "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary 
to salvation." 

It is not regarded as a mass of ancient literature con- 
taining things of but little importance, but as a revela- 
tion from God of the things pertaining to salvation, so 
that we are to " read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest 
them." 

A Church that so honors the Word of God and makes 
such large use of it on all occasions of public worship 
cannot be led far astray by novelties in religion. Its 
humblest members have opportunity to know what God 
has revealed, and the old truths are so constantly re- 
peated that while the Scriptures themselves endure this 
Church must teach in accordance with their teachings. 

This unceasing use of the Scriptures helps the mem- 



142 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



bers of this Church to maintain a well-bahmced faith. 
There is no distortion of truth, no pressing of particular 
points into undue prominence, and no hokling back of 
anything that is essential. 

We can easily see that in a religious sect where 
there are no positive laws requiring this constant read- 
ing of the Word of God in public, some truths may be 
made prominent and others suppressed ; but in this 
Church every important part of divine revelation comes 
out in due course, and they who will may know what 
God has spoken by His servants but especially by His 
Son. 

How extensive an influence this abimdant and con- 
tinual reading of God's Word in our assemblies for 
worship exerts upon us, in giving us right views of God 
and of ourselves, in fixing in our minds just ideas of 
Christian doctrine and sound princiiDles of morality, we 
can scarcely imagine." 

Speaking of the reading of the Lessons, Bishop Coxe 
says : Tlius Christ is preached, even if there be no ser- 
mon. The Holy Spirit accompanies this reading and 
blesses it to all who have ears to hear. If it does not 
profit them, it is not mixed with faith in them that 
hear it." 

Bishop Oxenden refers to this usage of reading selec- 
tions from the Scriptures as being a very ancient 
Christian practice, and adds: ^^How deep and serious 
should be the attention we pay to this part of the serv- 
ice. Holy Scripture contains a word to each of God's 
children, a word calculated to do them unspeakable 
good, and to te^ich them the truest knowledge. It con- 
tains a message from our Heavenly Father. It is the 
voice of inspiration speaking to us. We should listen 
with a humble, teachable, believing spirit, and should 



CONCERNING TIIIO p]PLSCOPAI. CnURCII. ] 4 -J 



pray for the Holy Spirit's help to carry home God'n 
truth to your very heart." 

But the reading of sacred Scripture in our services is 
not only for purposes of instruction ; it is also to sot 
forth the glory of God. The Lessons are to be re- 
garded as acts of worship telling forth His marvelous 
works. His justice, and His love. And this is v/hy they 
are followed by the Canticles, that the narration of 
God's dealings with His people may run up into acts of 
praise, by means of which even His Vv^ritten Word be- 
comes an offering of adoration made in the presence of 
His Divine Majesty." 

This view of the Lessons as an act of worship, apart 
from the instruction they may convey to us, is an added 
appepJ to us to absorb ourselves in the solemnities of 
the Lord's house and to realize His majestic presence. 

XXXIiL 
The Use of the Psalms. 

The Book of Psalms is a collection of religious poetry 
written at different times and by different persons. 
Seventy-three are ascribed to David, 2 to Solomon, 12 
to Asaph, 12 to the sons of Korah, 1 to Moses, 1 to 
Ethan^ and 49 are anonymous. It is probable that they 
v>^ere collected together somewhat as we nov^^ have them 
by Ezra. They were used for ages in the services of 
the Jewish Church, and came at once into Christian use 
as soon as the Church of Christ was founded. 

Our branch of the Church requires their use in the 
regular services of Daily Morning and Evening Prayer, 
and so has divided them into portions consisting of from 
one to tliree in length. Special selections aro sr-t i'ovUi 
as appropriate for use on such days as Christmas, Eas- 



144 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



ter, Trinity, etc. Other selections to the number of 
twenty are the grouping of certain Psalms to be used 
instead of the portion set forth for the day, at the 
discretion of the Minister, when he finds them more 
suitable to the tone of the service or to the particular 
occasion. 

Some Helps to the Devout Use of the Psalms. 

1. They are the sacred songs, inspired by the Spirit, 
in which many generations of men have uttered their 
religious emotions. They have thus become sanctified 
by the use which has been so long made of them by 
devout people. 

2. They contain the views which a religious spirit 
should take of the natural world. Nature was to the 
writers of the Psalms the garments and the voice of 
Deity. All nature was full of God, not as the panthe- 
ists taught, but the immanence of Deity as back of His 
works and as making them an expression of His mind 
and will. 

3. They represent the interposition of Deity in human 
affairs. They did not refer to God as one afar off, but 
as coming into man's realm, to redeem and deliver, to 
pardon and guide and sanctify. 

4. They show a great acquaintance with all the vary- 
ing phases of human nature. They represent it in 
gladness and in sorrow^, as rejoicing in pardon or cast 
down by the burden of sin, as having a hope of deliver- 
ance from peril and as being depressed by fears. The 
whole gamut of human emotion is touched, and it be- 
comes thus a book that is ever fresh because always 
so human. Many of the Psalms are the expression of 
emotion of their writers in view of events that happened 
to them, and so are suggestive of the emotions which 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 145 

may spring up in others when events of a similar char- 
acter happen to them. 

5. We must not be surprised at the great differences 
in the Psalms, some being gladsome and others sorrow- 
ful. In our services there are frequently brought to- 
gether Psalms of a very opposite character, and in the 
same composition the writer passes from gladness to 
sorrow. This is not strange when you study the dif- 
ferent circumstances under which they were written, 
and the purpose they had in view, as well as the fact 
that the lights and shadows change swiftly in all 
human experience. 

6. The Psalms deal with imagery which was appro- 
priate to the times, places, and circumstances of their 
composition. Although these have all changed so far 
as we are concerned, the imagery in which the thoughts 
are clad is still full of expression for us. Thus there is 
no longer for us any Moab or Zion or Carmel, but these 
places and the associations with them become the dra- 
pery for thoughts which are of permanent value. "We 
are expressing Christian ideas in the phraseology of a 
X)ast age. 

7. As the Hebrew nation was raised up for a particu- 
lar purpose, viz., to prepare the way for the coming of 
the world's Deliverer, the history of that nation becomes 
important in all its points. Israel is more to us than 
Rome, because from the chosen people came the Sav- 
iour of the world. 

Not only is the history of Israel important in this re- 
spect, but it is significant. It means more than is evident 
upon the surface. In a sense it is typical of the Chris- 
tian life. Hence, for example, contests with such foes as 
Moab and Philistia prefigure and exemplify the contests 
the Christian may have with his spiritual enemies, 



14G 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



8. The great fact wliicli makes the Psahns so valu- 
able to lis is that they are full of Christ. They testify 
of Him, sometimes hy mea,ns of direct prophecy, some- 
times under expressiA^e figures, and sometimes hy means 
of characters and events which have their twofold 
meaning. A Psalm may have its ovrn literal significa- 
tion, and it may also be a prophecy of Christ and His 
times. 

Common Hindrances. 
Not all persons gain benefit from their use of the 
Psalms in the Church services. Here are some of the 
most common objections. 

1. They allude to persons, places, and circum- 
stances with which we can have no special interest." 

J)iswc)\ Moses, David, and Solomon are in some 
senses types of Christ. Zion and Jerusalem are t}q3es 
of the Church. Egypt is a type of bondage to the world 
and sin. Canaan is a tj^De of our heavenl}^ home. Moab, 
Philistia, and the enemies of Israel are t}7)es of the 
spiritual foes of Christians. When you read the Psalms, 
put a Christian meaning into them. 

2. " They express feelings which do not ahvays cor- 
respond to ours, therefore it seems insincere in us if wo 
use them.'^ 

You may not always feel just as the words indicate, 
but when the Psalms are used in the Church services 
they represent the collective experiences of Christians. 
You are speaLdng for the aggregate of belicA'crs. 

3. ^^We cannot approve some of their vindictive 
utterances. 

You are not called upon to do so, as personal feelings 
toward any of your fellow-creatures. These denuncia- 
tory Psalms were ofiicial deehirations against the ene- 
ijiies of God and goodness. Not vindictive, but pro- 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CltURCH. 147 



phetic statements of the fate of those who persisted iu 
sin. 

4. The Psalms have only a remote reference to 
Christianity. They belong to an ancient faith which 
has passed away." 

They have their literal reference to the occasions 
when first composed, but their highest purpose was to 
testify of Christ and His times. 

XXXIV. 

What is meant by the Christian Year. 

If the stranger attends one of our services on Sun- 
day, he will hear the day called by some particular 
name. It will not be^ for example, such a day, say in 
December, or such a Sunday in the month, but possibly 
the Second Sunday in Advent, or the Fourth Sunday in 
Advent, or the First Sunday after Christmas. Looking, 
then, at the Prayer Book, he will find that every Sun- 
day in the year has its owm name ; thus, one will be the 
First Sunday after the Epiphany, another the Second 
Sunday in Lent, another the Tenth Sunday after Trinity, 
and so on. Besides this he will find certain other days 
bearing special names ; thus, the 25th of January is St. 
Paul's Day, the 25th of December is Christmas, the 6th 
of August is Transfiguration Day. If he add the Sun- 
days and special days together, he will fi.nd about 
eighty-five days in all to which special names are given 
and for which special services are appointed. 

Studying the matter further, he notes that the princi- 
pal divisions are as follow : Advent, Christmas, Epiph- 
any, Lent, Easter, Ascension, "Whitsuntide, and Trinity. 

What is meant by the Christian Year is the association 
of sacred events and Christian truths icith the days and 



148 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



seasons. It is a very old usage, which has come down 
to us from a remote past, and it has many benefits. One 
of the best and briefest explanations of the Christian 
Year is the following : The Church Year always begins 
with that Sunday which falls nearest to the thirtieth 
day of November. This day is known as the First Sun- 
day in Advent. There are four Sundays in Advent, and 
these weeks constitute what is called the Advent Sea- 
son. Advent means coming, and these ser\dces teach 
us about Christ's first coming, or birth, and warn us to 
prepare for His second coming, when He shall judge 
the world. 

^^The Christmas Season follows Advent, teaching 
that Christ is ^ Very Man' as well as 'Very God.' Next 
comes the E]3iphany Season. Epiphany means show- 
ing FORTH, and the services represent the Saviour as 
showing forth His glory by working miracles, forgiving 
sins, and offering salvation to Gentile as well as Jew. 

Ash-Wednesday is the first day of Lent, and always 
falls forty-six days before Easter. Six of these days 
are Sundays, leaving forty days of Lent, which repre- 
sent the Lord's forty days of fasting. The lessons of 
Lent are fasting, abstaining, and self-denial. Good 
Friday, the next to the last day of Lent, is the day kept 
in memory of the Crucifixion. Three days later comes 
Easter Sunda^y, when Christ rose from the dead and 
opened the gate of eternal life. Just forty days after 
the Resurrection Christ went away into heaven, and 
that fact is taught on Ascension Day. Ten days later 
is Whitsun-Day, when the Holy Ghost was sent down 
upon the waiting disciples. ^\Tiitsun-Day may fall any- 
where from the 10th of May to the 13th of June. From 
this time on till November, the Sundays are called 
Trinity Sunday and Sundays after Trinity. All through 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CIIURCH. 140 

the Trinity Season the practical duties of life are con* 
sideredj each Sunday setting forth its particular lesson.'^ 

The general name for the days set apart by this 
Church for special religious services is '^HolyDaySj" 
and they are divided into Festivals and Fasts. 

The Festivals, or Feast Days, include all Sundays in 
the year, and certain other days devoted to the honor 
of Christ, as Christmas, Ascension, Transfigm^ation, etc., 
and also some days devoted to the memory of those 
who have been prominent in the Gospel history. 

Under the head of Fasts are included the Lenten 
Season, the Ember Days, the Rogation Days, and all 
Fridays in the year. In all our parishes the greater 
Holy Days are observed, and in many all that are noted 
in the calendar. 

Among the advantages connected with the observance 
of the Christian Year are these : 

1st. The principal and doctrines of tlie Christian 
religion are brought very prominently before us, and 
make their impression upon mind and heart. One 
who follows the round of the Church's Holy Seasons 
cannot be ignorant of the great truths of our most holy 
faith. The season suggests the truth and enforces its 
teaching. 

2d. These Holy Days bring before us in proper order 
the duties ice owe to God and to each other, and remind 
us that our religion is not to consist merely in hearing 
holy truths, but in having right thoughts^ speaking good 
words, and doing Christian deeds. They help teach us 
to love Him who has done so. much for us, to imitate the 
faith and earnestness of His followers, to rebuke vice, 
to love and pray even for our enemies. 

3d. These Holy Day observances also help draw our 
minds aivau from the things of the ivorld that perishes^ 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



and bring vividly before us the kingdom of God which 
lasts forever. 

The world is ever pressing in npon us, and we are in 
constant danger of forgetting that we belong to a king- 
dom not of this world, but which is more real than all 
the things of this world. They serve to remind us that 
we ought to be followers of those who through faith 
and patience inherit the promises. These Holy Sea- 
sons well kept will do much toward preparing us for 
the work of life, and for rest in Paradise. 

It is interesting to note that whereas the observance 
of the Christian Year was at one time a peculiarity of 
this Church among Protestant bodies except the Lu- 
therans and Moravians, it is becoming more and more 
the usage of all these religious bodies to observe the 
greater Festivals, such as Christmas and Easter, and 
there is a decided tendency among some of them to 
mark some of the other portions of the Christian Year. 

It is no longer necessary to argue in favor of the pro- 
priety of associating sacred events and holy truths with 
the divisions of time. The general principle has finally 
been conceded by those who are the descendants of the 
most bitter opponents of this usage. 

There is, however, among some uninstructed persons 
considerable reluctance to admit the propriety of keep- 
ing what are known as the Saints' Days. They have 
not yet understood the difference between commemo- 
rating the life and labors of an Apostle or Evangelist, 
or a martyr, and the Eoman usage of asking the inter- 
cession of the saints. This Church does not invoke 
the saints, nor does it in any way turn our thoughts 
from Him who is our only Intercessor at the throne of 
God. It does bring before us the good examples of the 
saints of God to stimulate and to encourage us to Mel- 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL, CHURCH. 



151 



ity to our Lord, and it believes that they who labored, 
to found the Church of Christ are worthy of being had 
in perpetual and grateful memor3\ 

Usage among us varies greatly in the matter of keep- 
ing the minor holy days of the Church, but provision is 
made in the Prayer Book for services on these days, 
and in many parishes such services ar6 held. It mv.j 
be that but few persons are able to assemble for the 
commemoration, but they who do come find it spirit- 
ually profitable to occupy their thoughts with the 
blessed memories of those who were true to their Lord. 

It is also the habit of some persons, v/hen not able to 
attend a public servT.ce in the Church on any of these 
occasions, to read the Epistle and Gospel appointed, and 
to offer in their private devotions the Collect for the 
day. 

XXXV. 
Morning and Evening Prayer. 

Provision is made in the Prayer Book for services in 
the morning and evening of every Lord's Bay, and be- 
sides these occasions on every Holy Bay. 

Nor only so, but on every day in the year. It may 
not be practicable to open every church twice every 
day, but where it can be done suitable ser^dces are ap- 
pointed. There are selections of Scripture to be used 
as Lessons and Psalms, beside the Canticles, and 
Prayers, Creed, and the other parts of a pre-arranged 
service. In some parish churches and in the chapels 
of educational institutions, day by day throughout the 
year the voice of prayer and praise regularly ascends, 
and portions of the Word of God are read. 

In addition to this usage of "Baily Prayers," as the 
ordinary services are generally called^ there is a grow- 



152 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



ing usage of frequent celebrations of the Holy Com- 
munion, some parishes maintaining a weekly celebra- 
tion on the Lord's Day, and on all those occasions for 
which a Collect, Epistle, and Gospel are appointed. We 
shall consider these Eucharistic services elsewhere, and 
confine our attention now to the Morning and Evening 
Prayer. 

The Jewdsh Church had its regular hours of daily 
prayer, and it soon became the established practice in 
the Christian Church. 

When the usages of the Christian Church became 
fixed, the opening and the closing of the day were the 
recognized hours of prayer, and besides these many 
Christians observed also other periods of devotion. The 
services v/hich in time were adopted were known as 
"The Daily Offices. An old name for the two now to 
be considered, and by which they are still knowm by 
many, was Matins and Even-Song. 

The different compilations of our Prayer Book have 
brought together parts of the ancient Daily Offices, so 
that we have now in our Morning Prayer portions of the 
services formerly known as Matins, Lauds, and Prime. 

In the Evening Prayer w^e have portions of the old 
services of Vespers and Compline. 

If you analyze the elements in the Morning and Even- 
ing Prayer, you will find that they can be grouped into 
five divisions : 

1. TJie Introduction, containing the Sentences from 
the Scriptures, the Exhortation, Confession, Lord's 
Prayer, and Versicles. 

2. The Praises, containing the Canticles and the 
Psalms. 

3. Tlie Lessons, portions read from the Old and New 
Testaments. 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCli. l53 

4. Tlw Co}ifessio)i of our FaitJi, the Creed. 

5. Tlie Frajjcys, for oui'selves and others. 

The Sentences read at the beginning of the services 
are singularly appropriate. Their tone suggests the 
feeling we should have in coming into the presence of 
the Lord. 

The Exltortation instructs us as to the duty of confess- 
ing our sins, how to confess them, and why we should 
do so unitedly. It tells us what benefit will come to us 
if w,e confess them, and calls upon all to unite with the 
Minister, at this time, in such confession. 

It also sets forth the purposes of our gathering to- 
gether, viz., to render thanks for the benefits received 
at His hands, to set forth His most worthy praise, to 
hear His most Holy Word, and to ask those things which 
are needed for the body and the soul. 

In the Evening Prayer a shorter Exhortation may be 
used, in which the people are simply called upon to 
confess their sins humbly to Almighty God. 

Following the Exhortation comes the Confession. It 
is couched in general terms, so as to be suitable to a 
congregation made up of various kinds of persons. It 
may be divided into five parts : 1st. An humble ac- 
knowledgment that we have departed from God's ways, 
and that our natm^e is evil. 2d. Sins of omission and 
commission are deplored. 3d. The cry for mercy. 4th. 
The plea for pardon and restoration for the sake of 
our Saviour Christ. 5th. The prayer to lead a better 
life. 

This Confession is a model of what a true confession 
of sin should be, and should be made in sincerity and 
humility. Its words must not be repeated carelessly, 
for we are in the presence of the great Searcher of 
hearts, who knows just what we are and what we mean^ 



154 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION" 



and upon whose mercy in Christ Jesiis all our hopes 
depend. 

The Ahsohition is the declaration of God's mercy to 
penitent sinners pronounced by His Minister. God 
alone pardons, but His Minister declares God's willing- 
ness to pardon. There are two forms of this declara- 
tion, but the shorter of the two belonged originally to 
the Communion Service, and is by many thought to be- 
long peculiarly to that service. The longer of the two 
forms, which is generally used, may be divided into 
four parts : 1st. A statement of what God does not de- 
sire and what He does desire as to the sinner. 2d. 
That He has given His Ministers authority to declare 
the pa^rdon of the penitent. 3d. A solemn declaration 
that He does pardon those who repent a.nd believe. 
4th. A call to prayer for repentance and His Holy 
Spirit. 

This declaration can be of no value to us if we do not 
heartily turn to God from our sins and believe the good 
news of salvation from the power and pena,lty of sin 
through His dear Son. Pardon is within the reach of 
all, and we must consider it an inestimable blessing to 
be so constantly told of God's willingness to forgive sins. 

TJte LorcVs Praijcr, which then follows, is found in all 
the offices of the Prayer Book. It is both a form to be 
used and a model of all prayers. ^^It is a foundation 
upon which all prayers should be built," said Tertullian ; 
and says Hooker, We may be sure that in it vv^e utter 
nothing which God will disallow or deny." All our 
noeds and desires are included in it. All the Church's 
other prayers are but an expansion of the Lord's Pra^^er. 

It may be divided as follows : 

1. The Invocation. 2. Three petitions for the glory 
of God : His name hallowed^ His will done, His king- 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



155 



(1dm come. 3. For ourselves, daily bread, forgiveness, 
protection from evil. 4. The Doxology. 

Tlic ]'ersiclcs. — The short sentences after the Lord's 
Prayer are called -Versicles, or little verses, and the 
name name is given to others occurring in other places. 
Those now before us are taken from Ps. 51 : 15. Others 
are from other parts of Scripture, and some are the re- 
mains of ancient liturgical forms. 

Tlie Gloria Patria, which comes next in our ascription 
of praise to the blessed Trinity. It is frequently used 
in the services, as here and after the Psalms, to set 
forth the honor due unto Him who is our Maker, 
Redeemer, and Sanctifier. 

The Canticles. — The word means "Songs," and in- 
cludes six in the Morning Prayer and as many in the 
Evening. The first is the Venite, taken mainly from the 
95th Psalm, and is a call to worship. 

The Gloria in Excelsis is printed in the Morning Prayer, 
but is confined almost entirely to the Communion. 

The Te Deum follows the First Lesson, and is a grand 
hymn of praise, from the early centuries. 

The Benedicite is sometimes substituted for it in Lent 
and Advent, and on Thanksgiving Day. After the 
Second Lesson we have the Juhilate, which is Ps. 100, 
and the Benedictus, or song of Zacliarias. 

The six Canticles found in the Evening Prayer are 
the Cantate, from Ps. 95, the Bomim Est, from Ps. 92, 
the Deiis Misereatur, from Ps. 67, the Benedic anima 
mea^ from Ps. 103, the Magnificat, the Song of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Nunc Dimittis, the song 
of the aged Simeon. 

Four of the Canticles — the Gloria in Excelsis, the 
Benedictus, the Magnificat, and the Nunc Dimittis — 
are sometimes called the Gospel Canticles, because 



156 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



taken from the New Testament, and having special ref- 
erence to our Sa^dour. All are most solemn and ex- 
pressive words of praise to God, and when they are 
used they set forth our thankfulness for His great good- 
ness and tender mercy. It will be noted that not all 
the Canticles are used at one service, option being 
given which to select. 

The Psalms are well suited to express religious feel- 
ings, and hence are constantly used in the Morning and 
Evening services. In another part of this book will be 
found a chapter treating them more fully. 

The Lessons. — The selections from the Old and the 
New Testaments are called Lessons, because they are 
designed to teach us important truths concerning God 
and our duty to Him and to our neighbor. They are 
read, however, not only for instruction, but as an act 
of praise to honor God for making us a revelation. 
(See another chapter on the Use of Scripture.) 

The Creeds. — Our Church retains the two ancient 
summaries of the Christian Faith, the one known as the 
Apostles' Creed and the other as the Nicene. There 
are three reasons for their use in the services : 1st. 
They fix in our minds the essential truths of our relig- 
ion. 2d. We recite them as a protest against all the 
errors and denials of men. 3d. They become part of 
our act of worship of Him who has made know^n the 
truth. 

Frayers and Thanl'sgUHugs.-^ After saying the Creed 
we kneel again and offer our prayers and thanksgivings 
to God. 

By giving us these forms the Church teaches us that 
we are dependent upon God for all the comforts and 
blessings that can come to us, and sliows us what things 
to pray for. 



CONCERNING THP^ EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 157 

All our prayers are summed up in one at the close, 
that we may know God's will in this life, and in the life 
to come may have life everlasting. Besides this, these 
prayers very clearly show us that we can hope for 
answers only because they are offered in the name of 
our Saviour Christ. He is our Advocate and Intercessor, 
and so the Church teaches us, as He taught His disci- 
ples, to pray in His name. 

After the Prayers comes the TlicuiTcsgiving, one of the 
important parts of the service, for it brings out the 
duty of thankfulness, setting before us the true view 
of life as a blessing, and that our redemption through 
Christ is to bring us not only deliverance from sin, but 
blessedness in the better life. 

The services of both Morning and Evening Prayer 
end with one of the forms of Benedictioii known some- 
times as The Lesser Benediction,^^ but more frequently 
as The Grace:' 

XXXVI. 
The Holy Communion. 

The Lord Jesus instituted a sacrament to be observed 
by His disciples in remembrance of Him. His purpose 
was that they should ever keep in mind the sacrifice of 
Himself so willingly and so lovingly made for them. 
He also ordained it that it should become a means 
whereby their spiritual life should be nourished and 
strengthened. 

The Communion Office is the richest and most care- 
fully prepared of any of the parts of the Prayer Book. 
It is derived mainly from the Liturgy of the Church of 
England, but a portion of it was taken from the Com- 
munion Office of the Scottish Church. 

In its essential features it corresponds with the 



158 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



earliest Cliristian Litui'gies, and contains the forms 
used by Christians from the beginning when they thus 
showed forth their Lord's death. 

The most Scriptural and most devotional explanation 
of the Holy Communion is the Communion Office itself. 
If one would know how to prepare himself to receive 
this sacrament aright, he will find the instruction he 
needs in the Exhortations. If he would understand 
the design of the Lord's Supper, it is clearly stated in 
the Prayer of Consecration. If one ask what hopes and 
feelings should fill the soul after being at the Feast, he 
will adopt the Prayer in the Post-Communion as his 
own. 

This sacrament is usually known among us by three 
names : 1st. It is called the Lord's Supper, because it 
was instituted by our Lord at the close of the Passover 
Supper while they were yet at the table, and by the use 
of the elements, bread and wine. 2d. It is the Holy 
Communion, because it is the Feast in which we may 
have closer communion with the Lord Himself, and be- 
cause we are thus brought into communion or fellow- 
ship with all those who love Him. 3d. It is the Eu- 
charist, because it is a service of joy and thanksgiving. 

This Church regards the celebration of this feast as 
the highest act of Christian worship, and as the most 
efficacious means of receiving spiritual blessings. After 
the example of the primitive Church, provision is made 
for its frequent celebration, and hence there is a Col- 
lect, Epistle, and Gospel appointed for ever}^ Lord's Day 
and Holy Day. There can be no doubt that in the 
Apostolic period the Communion was celebrated every 
Lord's Day. Dr. Schaif, who is not a Churchman, says, 
" The Communion has always been regarded as the sum- 
jnit pf Chnstiaii w^orship and. as a foretaste of the mar? 



CONCERXING THE EPTSroPAE mrRCH. 



159 



riage supper of the Lamb. In tlie Apostolic period it 
was celebrated daily," 

The general usage of the Christian Chiu'ch has been 
frequent celebrations. 

In the majority of our x)arishes in this coimtry it is 
celebrated at least once each month, and on all tlie 
great festivals, but there is a growing disx^osition to 
celebrate it every Lord's Lay and on all Holy Days. 
The weekly Eucharist has already been established in 
many parishes, and year by year the number grovrs 
larger where on all Sundays and Holy Lays in the year 
the feast is spread for all who will make use of the 
privilege. 

It is not sui^prising that there should be ddfierences of 
opinion concerning the doctrine of the Eucharist, but 
without entering into an explanation of these diverging 
views it will be sufficient to state here the four points 
upon which all ChrLTchmen are in substantial agree- 
ment. 

1. The Eolij Cominunion is a DtciuorUu of our Saviour 
Christ. Our blessed. Saviour, on the night on v\-hicli He 
was betrayed, commanded His disciples to eat bread 
and drink \vine in remembrance of Him. It was His 
ovm command that, in this vray. tliey should keep Him 
in mind. The Communion, therefore, is the Christian's 
feast of remembrance. The human heart is prone to 
forget even the greatest benefits and to become so ab- 
sorbed in other things that even the mercies bought at 
the cost of deepest sorrow cease to be considered. 

We are to regard the Iloly Coinmuninn as constantly 
teaching us Kltat our Savin)(r did f(.r u-^ uocansc of His 
(jreat love for us. It is a perpetual memorial of His 
taking our nature upon Him and giving Plis life for us. 

2. The Hohj Cor.unuHion is for the strengthening of our 



160 



A MANUAL OF iNFOkMATION 



souls J)ij the Body and Blood of Christy as our bodies are 
by bread and wine. ^' The Body and Blood of Christ are 
spiritually taken and received by the faithful in the 
Lord's Supper." ^^Such as rightly, worthily, and with 
faith receive the same, the Bread which we break is 
a partaking of the Body of Christ, and likewise the 
Cup of Blessing is a partaking of the Blood of Christ." 
" The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the 
Supper, after a heavenly and spiritual manner, and the 
mean whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten 
in the Supper is Faith." There is no change of the sub- 
stance of bread and wine. They do not cease to be 
bread and wine, but they who partake of these rightly 
receive the benefits which are conveyed by recei^dng 
Christ. He imparts Himself to them. " With the hand 
we receive the outward and visible sign, and with the 
spirit we receive the things signified — the Body and 
Blood of Christ." 

There is no need of any Christian's being perplexed 
as to the manner in which our Lord imparts Himself 
to us in this Sacrament. It is sufficient to remember 
that He imparts Himself to us so that we are refreshed 
and strengthened spiritually and nourished unto life 
eternal. 

3. Tlie Holy Communion is a sign of the love that 
Christians ought to have among themselves, one to anotlier. 
There is a blessed bond which unites all believers in 
one fellowship, and this bond is strengthened by coming 
to this Holy Feast. We are urged before coming to be 
in love and charity with our neighbors, and at the close 
of the service we are taught to thank God that we arc 
very members incorporate in the mystical body of His 
Son, "which is the blessed company of all faithful 
people." 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHUU(MF. 

As this Sacrament shows us how our Saviour Christ 
loved us, it also shows us how we should love each 
other. United to Him by holy bonds, we are united to 
all this blessed company of faithful people. The bonds 
are strengthened by partaking of this Sacrament. 

4. The Holy Communion is the occasion for special ap- 
'proaclies to the Lord Jesus. It is a time of Communion 
with Him. As God He is everywhere present, and 
whenever we call upon Him He is near. But there is 
an especial nearness of Christ to the soul in this Sacra- 
ment that encourages the reverent approaches of the 
soul in penitence, in prayer, in supplication, in thanks- 
giving, and in holy resolutions to please Him. 

As one well said : " Holy Communion is only one 
way of coming to Christ. Whenever we kneel to pray, 
whenever we lift up our hearts to Him, we come to 
Him — but Holy Communion is a definite act of coming 
to Him. It is the nearest approach we can make to 
Him, for it is Communion with Him.'' 

It is well now to consider some of the proper motives 
which should lead Christians to come to this Feast. 
Very prominent among these are : 

1. TJie determination to confess Christ defore the world. 
A sacrament is, in a sense, an oath of fidelity, and 
every time we come to the Lord's Table we present 
ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, 
and living sacrifice to Him. We have chosen Him to 
be our Lord. We have taken His yoke upon us. We 
renew our consecration to Him and to His service in 
this Feast, and we pray that we may do all such good 
works as He has prepared for us to walk in. 

When we consider the manifold temptations which 
we daily meet with, and the many things that would 
allure us from His service, it is well indeed that we 



162 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



frequently take this oath of fidelity, and bring before 
our souls the fact that we are no longer our own. 

2. The disjjosition to honor that ivhich He has appointed. 
If there is uncertainty as to the origin of any usage now 
in vogue, there is no uncertainty about this. It is the 
Feast which Christ himself ordained, and it has been 
continuously celebrated by the Christian Church through 
all the Christian centuries. 

If we could see no reason whatever for its appoint- 
ment, if we knew of no benefits to result from it, the 
simple fact that our Lord instituted it and commanded 
us to continue it should be a sufficient reason for our 
obedience. We honor Him in honoring that which He 
has appointed. 

When so many persons upon whom the vows of Christ 
are resting come so seldom to the Lord's Table, may not 
others be moved to greater devotion by the dread lest 
the fewness of the worshipers dishonor the Feast? 

3. The expectation of receiving new supplies of spiritual 
strength. In Christ all fullness dwells, and He can give 
us what we need. He makes the Holy Communion a 
means of grace for strengthening and refreshing us, 
and none who seek are ever turned empty away. 

It is thought by some that no one should ever go to 
the Lord's Table until he had first made himself very 
good ; but we are to draw near to Christ to be made 
good, and to receive more and more of the Spirit of God. 
No one, of himself, can ever be good enough, and so we 
are taught when we come to this Feast to make an hum- 
ble confession of sinfulness, to pray for forgiveness, and 
to seek power to serve and please God in newness of 
life. 

It is right to come to Communion expecting whatever 
benefits may be implied in becoming partakers of His 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 1 03 

most blessed Body and Blood, and in being filled with 
God's grace and heavenly benediction. Just as one 
needs material food for the body, so is there spiritual 
food needed for the sonl; and as no one should be 
ashamed of bodily hunger, so no one should be ashamed 
of the hunger which leads him to the Lord's Tptble, to 
find there new strength for his religious life. 

4. The Holy Communion is tlie occasion for sjwcial 
jyraijers and intercessions. There are times when 
Christian souls are burdened with deep sorrows, per- 
plexed by weighty questions, sorely tempted by doubts 
and fears, greatly concerned for near and dear ones, 
and when they feel the need of especial grace. There 
are other times when Christians realize vi\ddly that 
without God's blessing their plans and undertakings 
cannot prosper, and they are moved to make earnest 
entreaty for that blessing which purifies their purposes 
and hallows the results. Then there are many times 
when grateful hearts long to make special acknowledg- 
ment of grace and mercy received, and of blessings 
enjoyed. 

It is very true that the Throne of Grace is always 
open to the believer, and whensoever he will he can 
draw near to Him who is more ready to hear than we to 
pray; but at the same time, perhaps, every Christian 
feels, in the Holy Communion, a special nearness to 
the Lord, and so a stronger encouragement to open the 
heart's desires before Him. 

It has therefore become the usage of many persons 
to regard this Feast as the most favorable time for pre- 
senting their special prayers and supplications. 



164 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



XXXVII. 

Hallowed Associations with the Church and its 
Services. 

"To be a devout and consistent Chureliman," said 
one who Mmself was not a Clinrehman, brings a man 
throngh aisles fragrant with holy associations, and 
companied by a long procession of the good, chanting 
as they go a unison of piety and hope." In the case of 
many it is the Chm^ch of their fathers. They can trace 
back their ancestry in it throngh many generations. 
They have a birthright connection with it. All the re- 
ligions traditions of their families come down through 
its channels, and they have grown up into a love and 
reverence for it which no ordinary words can describe. 
They expect to cling to it, and they expect their chil- 
dren's children to cling to it. Its usages are as familiar 
to them as household words, and its history is treasured 
in their hearts. 

In the case of others there has been a break in this 
long connection with this historic Church. Some an- 
cestors departed into some new path, but happily in 
many instances, and especially in these days, there is 
the retimi to the old household of Faith. 

In the ease of others, where there has been no such 
connection by family with this Church, and where there 
has been adhesion to other religious bodies, when the 
change is made these hallowed associations begin to be 
formed and the new adherents soon become the Church's 
loving friends. 

It is interesting to note how these hallowed associa- 
tions with the Church and her services grow. 

1st. Men see that tlie CluirclPs jyurjwse is to educate 
the man for eternitij, to be his guide through life, his 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 1G5 

teacher and familiar friend, meeting him at every turn 
and systematically preparing him for the better life 
while teaching him to live aright here. It follows him 
into every situation in which he may be placed. At 
home and abroad, in safety and in peril, it is with him 
in joy and sorrow. It honors the parental relation, it 
blesses the marriage bond, it comforts sickness, and 
holds up the cross before the dying. 

2d. They see also tlie dignity and inoiwiety of the 
Churches services, and these services become hallowed 
by use. There is a wide contrast betw^een the majestic 
utterances of the Church's liturgical forms and the crude 
effusions of many other modes of worship. Dignified, 
indeed, are these services in the humblest chapel, com- 
pared with the spectacular performances and the secu- 
larities often witnessed elsewhere. In such a worship 
the man is made to feel that he is an immortal being in 
the presence of his Maker. His reverential instincts 
are not outraged. He is not wearied with platitudes. 
He is called upon to do homage to his Lord, and while 
confessing his unworthiness he is taught to seek 
Heaven's benediction. 

In the use of these services every perfection of Deity 
is adored, every doctrine of the inspired Word is re- 
hearsed, every bounty of Providence is recited thank- 
fully, every want of human nature is effectively poured 
out, and every class and condition of humanity are re- 
membered. 

3d. Still further, the Church's services connect us with 
all the past ages of devotion. We not only know how 
our predecessors in the faith worshiped, but there 
have come down to us the very modes of service they 
used, so that to-day there are repeated before our altars 
the very utterances of St. John at Ephesus, and the 



166 



A MANUAL OP INFORMATION 



responses of the Christian people who lived in the first 
century. The words of consecration in the Holy Com- 
mnnion are those learned from the lips of the Master, 
and the songs we sing are those which rang in the npper 
room in Jerusalem. The substance of our Creeds has 
been repeated by generations all along the line of de- 
scent, from Apostles to this day. Whenever a child is 
baptized the words are those contained in the parting 
command of the Master. When by the side of an open 
grave the Minister recites the Burial Office, he repeats 
the words which St. J ohn in his vision was commanded 
to write : Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." 

The Church's services are venerable for age, and for 
their long use by so many of God's people. Many 
hearts have poured out their joy and sorrow in them. 
Many precious thoughts and right desires have been in- 
spired by them, and many souls have found them aids 
in the journey toward the City of the King. 

Confessors and martjT^s, the holiest and best of earth, 
the noblest of all who fought the good fight of faith, 
have sung these songs, repeated these prayers, and ut- 
tered these confessions of faith. 

^\lien the Chm'chman sings the Te Deum there seems 
to be the rolling chorus of ages of song in the Church 
of Christ, beginning far back in the days of Augustine 
and Ambrose, gathering strength and sweetness as one 
and another took up the strain, until it grows into a 
world-T\dde chorus. 

When he uses other portions of the service he repeats 
what m^Tiads of other men in all the agony of entreaty, 
in all the fervor of supplication, in all the fullness of 
every emotion, have poured into the ears of a prayer- 
hearing God. 

These services come to us not as something newly 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHTTRCH. 1()7 

composed, but as treasures of devotion in which are 
gathered the pious aspirations of tlie Christian cent- 
uries. 

It is not strange, then, that hallowed associations are 
formed with such a Church and with such services, and 
that the Churchman exclaims, Blessed be the Lord for 
all these holy ties that link us with the company of His 
people, and for all these holy helps that help us to walk 
in the ways that lead us finally into the blessedness 
eternal." 

This Church promotes hallowed associations also when 
men realize the work it seeks to do. They perceive that 
the work of the Church is to preach the Gospel, to make 
men disciples of the Master, to bring them into His 
family and to train them in holiness of mind and heart. 
The Church's vfork is to make all life better by making 
it Christ-like ; to announce the principles, to provide 
the means, and to offer the help whereby men may fol- 
low the blessed steps of the Son of God. 

Is not this the Bride of Christ in the world? 

Here is an organization with divine lineaments. Its 
interests are not temporal but eternal. It is not for one 
age, but its work goes on from age to age. Its purpose 
is so beneficent that it must have been planned not by 
men, but by the Lord Himself. 

It is a branch of the old Church which the Apostles 
founded, and it enshrines the old truths which Apostles 
taught. It has blessed the world for over eighteen cent- 
uries, and it must continue to the end of time. 

Scores of new faiths have come and gone, but the 
historic Church must outlast all schisms and heresies, 
and be the gathering point for all who would be at one 
upon the basis of the Evangelic Faith and the Apostolic 
Order. 



168 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



ON USING THIS MANUAL AS A TEXT-BOOK 
FOR CLASSES. 

This Manual may be used as a text-book. Ordinarily, 
one or two chapters may be assigned for study, but in 
some eases three or foiu' chapters will not be too long 
for the hour of recitation and discussion. The teacher 
or leader must be guided by the nature of the topics 
and the ability of the class. 

In the following pages there are some Question Guides 
and Lesson Hints which may aid the pupil in his studies 
and furnish an outline of the course of the class work. 
The conversational method upon topics, with side read- 
ings, quotations, and illustrations gathered by pupils 
and teacher, will be more helpful than the ordinary 
question-and-answer plan. The ideal class meet and 
talk over the assigned topic, bringing to its elucidation 
whatever they can gather from some of the many avail- 
able soiu'ces. 

The chapters following correspond with the chapters 
of the Manual. In giving the name of a book for refer- 
ence no opinion is here expressed as to views it may 
contain. 

I. Xame of the Church. 

1. Let some one read the name as printed on the 
title-page of the Prayer Book. 

2. What was the Church here originally called? 

3. Give some account of the origin of the present 
name. 

4. What changes of name have been proposed? 

5. State the arguments for and against these changes. 

6. Wliat is the exact meaning of the present name? 

7. What is the common popular name? 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 169 



8. Give the names of other religious bodies in this 
country. 

Beferencc BoolxS : The Church Cyclopedia, Articles 
Protestant," Episcopacy." Perry's History of the 
American Episcopal Church. Reports of Discussions 
in General Convention on Change of Name. 

II. This Church in America. 

1. Give some account of the colonization of this 
country. 

2. Why were not Bishops sent here? 

3. Who were the Commissaries? 

4. Give some account of the organization of the 
Church here after the Revolution closed. 

Reference Boohs : Perry's History. Bishop White's 
Memoirs. McConnell's History of the American Epis- 
copal Church. Shinn's Manual on Church History. 

III. Connection with the Primitive Church. 

1. What popular blunders are there about the English 
Church? 

2. Recite the four periods of English Church History. 

3. How is the antiquity of the English Church shown ? 

4. Give some account of the Reformation in the En- 
glish Church. 

5. Repeat now the line of proof of the connection of 
the Episcopal Church with the primitive Church. 

Reference Boohs : Short's History of the English 
Church. Churton's Early English Church. Blunt's 
Reformation of Church of England. Blunt's Key to 
Church History. Chapin's Primitive Church. 

IV. Obligations of the American people. 
1. What is the usual view as to this Church and the 
American Revolution? 



170 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



2. V/liat i^art did American Churclimen take in that 
important portion of onr history? 

3. Why were popular prejudices excited? 

4. What had American Churchmen to do with the 
later development of our Constitution? 

5. What influences are being wrought now by this 
Church upon the religious life of the people of this 
land? 

Reference BooJcs : Perry's History. Shinn's Pathways 
to Our Church. 

Y. TJic Frojwscd Bool, 

1. What service book was used here in colonial 
times? 

2. What changes were made necessary by the Revo- 
lution ? 

3. What was proposed for use? 

4. Give some account of the Proposed Book. 

5. How has it of late been brought into notice ? 

6. Why was it not adopted? 

7. ^Vhat was adopted finally? 

Reference Boohs : Perry's History. McConnell's His- 
tory. Bishop ^\Tiite's Memoirs. Reprint of the Pro- 
posed Book. 

YI. The Prayer BooTx as it is. 

1. When was it adopted? 

2. Has it been re^ased since then? 

3. What does it contain? 

4. What renders it difficult for strangers to use ? 

5. How can persons be taught to find the places? 

6. State now some of its characteristics. 

7. Give some illustrations of each point. 
Beference Books : Shinn's Manual on the Prayer Book. 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 171 



Bluut's Annotated Book of Common Prayer. Bishop 
Coxe's Thoughts on the Services. Campion's Prayer 
Book Interleaved. Numerous Prayer Book Manuals. 

yil. Theological TeacMngs. 

1. What is meant by Theology? 

2. How does the Prayer Book teach Theology? 

3. Name some of the points it does teach. 

4. Give illustrations of these points by quotations. 
Jxcference Boo'ks : Norris's Rudiments of Theology. 

Blunt- s Household Theology. Kipp's Double Witness. 

Vni. Differences detween the EjnscojKil Church and the 
Bom an Catholic. 

1. What common prejudice exists? 

2. Why does this Church seem to some like the Ro- 
man Church? 

3. How could you show the differences between the 
two? 

4. Upon what points is there agreement? 

5. In what particulars has the Roman Church erred? 

6. Can one find all he needs in the Episcopal Church ? 
Reference Books : Steam's Faith of Our Forefathers. 

Shinn's Questions about Our Church. Odenheimer's 
True Catholic no Romanist. Littledale's Reasons for 
not becoming a Romanist. 

IX. Features held in common, 

1. Are there many Protestant bodies? 

2. With which five is a comparison here made ? 

3. Name some of the points of agreement. 

4. What questions grow out of this subject? 
Bcference Books : Thirty-niue Ai^ticles and Confess 

sions of Faith. 



172 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



X. Belationsllip to Other Bodies. 

1. "Why is this matter not always understood? 

2. What is the origin of some Protestant bodies! 

3. Why do we retain Episcopacy? 

4. How does this Church show a courteous spirit ? 

5. What proposals for Christian unity has it made? 

6. Explain these four points. 

7. How can Christian unity be aided now? 
Reference Books : Various papers and sermons on 

Christian Unity, also the Histories of these surrounding 
bodies. 

XI. In Siimpatluj v:itli tlie Present Age. 

1. For what is this age noted? 

2. Have there been changes of religious belief? 

3. Why is this Church misunderstood? 

4. State the Church's position. 

5. Is the Church responsible for men's misconceptions 
of religion? 

Bcference Books : Franklin's Creed and Modern 
Thought. Archbishop Benson's Church of the Future. 

XII. Individual Ojjinions and Cliurcli Tcacliing. 

1. Is the Church to be held accountable for individ- 
ual utterances ? 

2. How does the Church set forth truth? 

3. Can any individual or party represent the Church? 

4. Give illustrations of allowable differences of 
opinion. 

5. What is the difference between opinions and doc- 
trines ? 

6. Can the Church change truths? 

7. Can men be loyal to the Church and hold differing 
opinions ? 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 173 



XIII. Schools of TJtouglit, 

1. Is it easy to explain the position of parties? 

2. Are the majority of Church folk partisans? 

3. Define the four leading schools of thought. 

4. Have schools of thought only recently originated? 

5. What good purposes have these four served? 

6. Can any one school claim to be the only loyal form 
of Churchmanship ? 

XIV. Words and Phrases. 

1. Explain some of the words in the Creed likely to 
be misunderstood. 

2. Why are Latin titles used for Psalms and Canti- 
cles? 

3. What words used in the Te Deum need explana- 
tion? 

4. Also in the Litany? 

5. Explain other misunderstood words. 

Reference Books : Church Cyclopedia. Blunt's Dic- 
tionary. Bishop Hobart's Sermons. Hallam's Lect- 
ures. Pearson on the Creed. 

XV. Laics, Usages, and DiscijMne. 

1. How is the parish incorporated? 

2. Who constitute the Vestry? 

3. For how long is a Rector called? 

4. How can the relationship be dissolved? 

5. Name some of his duties. 

6. How are congregations protected in public wor- 
ship? 

7. What are the laws relating to marriage? 

8. Should all parish officers be faithful? Why? 

9. Are there many cases of public -discipline in this 
Church? 



174 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



10. How are sucli cases often settled? 

11. To whom has the accused person a right to ap- 
peal? 

12. What is the correct view of the position of the 
Church? 

13. Refer to the Canons to show the provision relating 
to discipline of lapnen — then of clergymen. 

Bcfcrcnce Bools : See statutes relating to parishes 
as Corporations. Humphrey's Law of the Church. 
Baum's Church Laws. Digest of Canons. 

XVI. Marriage, 

1. What three reasons are there for the sanctity of 
marriage ? 

2. What marriages are forbidden? 

3. What are prerequisites to marriage? 

4. Explain the different parts of the service. 

0. Explain tlie difficult words in the service. 
Beference Bools : Blunt's Annotated Prayer Book and 

other Commentaries. 

XVII. Burials. 

1. How did Christianity affect the treatment of the 
bodies of the dead? 

2. What objection is made to oiu' Burial Ser\dce? 

3. Of what parts is the service composed? 

4. Explain these parts. 

5. Wliy is earth thrown into the grave ? 

6. How are graves marked? 

7. Is cremation necessarily unchristian? 

8. What funeral abuses should be corrected? 

9. What memorials of the departed can be made ? 
Beference BooJxS : Chapters of Church Histories on 

Burials and the Eesurrectiou. 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. ] 75 

XVIII. Ilclujioiis Training. 

1. How does the Church regard the baptized chikl? 

2. What provision is made for its training? 

3. Into what relationship does baptism bring the 
child? 

4. Give some account of the Catechism. 

5. What is a preparation for Confirmation and Com- 
munion ? 

6. How do the religious services of the Church help 
the training? 

XIX. Confirmation. 

1. What is meant by this Apostolic rite? 

2. What Scriptural authority do we have for it? 

3. Why have not all Christian bodies retained it? 

4. Give some account of the administration of Con- 
firmation ? 

5. How are persons prepared for Confirmation? 
Reference Books : Butler's The Flock Fed. Shinn's 

Manual for Confirmation Candidates. Various other 
Manuals. Also Lectures and explanations of the 
Church Catechism. 

XX. Laymen, 

1. What objection is sometimes made? 

2. State some of the work always open to laymen. 

3. Name some new fields of labor for them. 

4. May laymen deliver religious addresses? 

5. Are they ever authorized to hold services? 

6. Is their help welcomed by the clergy? 

XXI. Organizations. 

1. What are the aims of a parish? 

2. What is a parochial organization? 

3. Into what four divisions may they be classified? 



176 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



4. Give some illustrations of each. 

Beference Books : See Books on Pastoral Care, also 
Reports of Guilds, Brotherhoods, etc. Addresses and 
Reports on Laymen in the Church. Church Congress 
Report for 1891. 

XXII. The Poor. 

1. Is it the Church's duty to care for the poor? 

2. Is any poverty preventable ? 

3. State what is done in this direction. 

4. Is intemperance responsible for much poverty ? 

5. Give some accounts of Asylums, Orphanages, Em- 
ployment Societies, etc. 

Beference Bools : Reports of Guilds and Charities, 
also of Associated Charities. 

XXIII. Missions. 

1. Is the Church to be spread to others? 

2. What are the Church's plans of mission work? 

3. What is the parish ? 

4. Is interest in missions injurious to one's own par- 
ish? 

5. What is the great ]3rinciple of the Missionary So- 
ciety? 

6. Give some accounts of the Church's missionary 
operations. 

Beference Books : Reports and pamphlets of the Board 
of Missions. Also diocesan and other missionary tracts 
and documents, 

XXIV. Music and Choirs. 

1. Does music have much place in our Church? 

2. What is the noblest musical instrument? 

3. Why are other instruments nsed? 

4. Give some account of chanting. 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 177 

5. Why are choirs helpful ? 

6. Why is sacred music so neglected? 

7. What is essential in devotional music ? 
Eeference Books : Papers on Church Music. Books 

on the Training of Choirs. Sermons on Public Praise 
and the Worship in the Church. 

XXV and XXVI. Tlie Sacred Ministry. 

1. Why is the Ministry a sacred calling? 

2. Of what three orders does it consist? 

3. How are Ministers called? 

4. How are they trained ? 

5. How are they settled in parishes? 

6. How are Bishops chosen? 

Eeference Books : Bishop Wilberforce's Lectures to 
Candidates for Holy Orders. Various Treatises on the 
Ministry and its Duties. 

XXVH. Places of Worship. 

1. What reasons are there for the proper construc- 
tion and ornamentation of houses of worship ? 

2. Explain the uses of the different parts of a Church 
edifice. 

3. Give some account of the consecration of a Church. 

4. What can you say as to the naming of Churches ? 

Eeference Books : Papers of the Church Building Com- 
mission. Shinn's Manual on the Prayer Book. Arti- 
cles on Church Architecture. 

XXVni. Symlolism, etc. 

1. Wliat is the purpose of symbolism? 

2. Is there any worship without it ? 

3. What objections have been made to its use? 



178 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION 



4. How has this Church used symbolism in architect- 
ure and worship ? 

5. Name some of the symbolic usages of the Church. 

6. Why are our Churches usually decorated? 

XXIX. Variations^ etc, 

1. Are there variations in the use of the Church serv- 
ices? 

2. Explain the differences as to frequency. 

3. Can the hours be the same everywhere? 

4. Are different degrees of attention given to details ? 

5. Is music a helpful source of enrichment? 

XXX. Details. 

1. Is there much attention to details of worship in 
the Prayer Book? 

2. Give some illustrations. 

3. Why are details important? 

4. Why is it to be an audible worship ? 

5. Why visible? 

G. How are the persons to take part designated? 

XXXI and XXXII. The Church and Holy Scripture, 

1. How did the Church originate? 

2. How is the Church the keeper and witness of the 
truth? 

3. Does the Church hold the doctrines of the Script- 
ure? 

4. Does it teach anything contrary to Scripture? 

5. Show how the Church honors the Scriptures. 

6. How much of the Prayer Book is Scripture? 

7. For what reasons are Lessons read in the services? 
Reference Boohs : Bishop Kipp's Double Witness. 

Blunt's Household Theology. 



CONCERNING THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



179 



XXXm. Fsalms. 

1. What is the Psalter? 

2. What is the purpose of the Psalms ? 

3. Explain the Church's use of the Psalms. 

4. What helps are there to their devout use? 

5. How is their devout use hindered? 

Reference BooJcs : Metcalf and Huntington's Com- 
panion to the Psalter. Walsh's Voices of the Psalms. 
Bishop Horne on the Psalms. 

XXXIY. Tlie Christian Tear. 

1. Explain what is meant by the Christian Year. 

2. Give its principal divisions. 

3. Name some of the Saints' Days. 

4. What are the advantages of obser\'ing the Chris- 
tian Year? 

5. How should the Sacred Seasons and Holy Days be 
kept? 

6. Is their observance becoming more general? 
Beference BooJcs : Keeble's Christian Year. Kipp's 

Double Witness. Coxe's Christian Ba^Uads. Grant's 
Church Seasons. Sermons for Holy Days, etc. 

XXXV. Morning and Evening Prayer. 

1. What provision is made for public services? 

2. Make an analysis of the elements of Morning 
Prayer. 

3. Also for Evening Prayer. 

4. Explain why the Sentences, Exhortatior, Confes- 
sion, and Absolution are used. 

5. In like manner go on with each part. 

6. Show the scope of the Prayers. 

7. Upon what principle are the Scriptures selected? 



180 



A MANUAL OF INFORMATION, 



8. Why are the Psalms and Canticles used! 

9. Give some account of the Te Deum. 

10. ^T^iere is the Litany nsed? Explain the Litany. 

11. Show the differences between Morning Prayer 
and Evening Prayer. 

liefer dice Bools : Hallam's Lectures on the Morning 
Prayer, Shinn's Manual on the Prayer Book. Blunt's 
Annotated Prayer Book and other Commentaries. 

XXXYI. llie Holt/ Communion. 

1. By what three names is this feast known? 

2. What are its purposes? 

3. What are its benefits? 

4. How can we prepare to receive it worthily? 

5. Explain the different parts of the service. 
Befcrence Bools : Goulburn on the Holy Communion. 

Scuddamore's Notitii^ Eucharistica. Church Cyclope- 
dia. 

XXXYII. Hallowed Associations, 

1. How are these associations formed? 

2. Wliy does a Churchman love the Church? 

3. How does the Church's work promote them? 

4. Is it a help to us to love the Church? 

5. Tell now the reasons you have for loving the 
Church. 

6. Upon what grounds do you recommend it to others ? 
Beference Bool's : Oxenden's Our Church and Her 

Services. Shinn's Pathways to Our Church and Ques- 
tions about Our Church. Tracts on Baptism and Con- 
firmation. 



IND 



EX. 



PAGE 



Ages of Devotion ]65 

Alms for Poor 99 

American Churchmen 21 

Apostolic Order 167 

Appropriate Devotions 27 

Audible \Vorship 134 

Baptism 80 

Bible Classes 94 

Bishops 110 

British Church 15 

Broad Churchmen 54 

Burial Service and Usages . . 75 

Call to the Ministry 112 

Canticles 155 

Catechising: 94 

Catholic not Koman Cath- 
olic 10, 15 

Chanting 108 

Christian Unity 3 

Christian Year 147 

Church and Bible 140 

Church Buildings 120 

Church Discipline 68 

Commissaries before Bish- 
ops 12 

Communion 157 

Confession of Christ 101 

Confession of Sins 153 

Consecration of Bishops for 

America 13 

Courteous Spirit of this 

Church 42 

Creeds 156 

Daily Prayers 129 

Deacons 116 

Details in the Services 132 

Devotional Theology 29 

Devout Use of Psalms . ... 144 

Dioceses , , . . 117 



page 



English Church Reforma- 
tion 18 

English Colonies 11 

English Period " 16 

Enrichment of Services Itj2 

Episcopacy 12, 139 

Episcopate conferred 13 

Eye Gate to the Soul 128 

False Doctrine 63 

First Bishop in the United 

States 13 

First Service in Virginia. . . 11 

Forbidden Marriages 71 

Formalism condemned 28 

Foundations of the Faith. . . 46 
Four Periods of English 

Church History 16 

Future Life 31 

Gifts of Grace 85 

Giving the Ring . . 73 

Godparents 81 

Gospel 64 

Habit of Church-going 86 

Hallowed Assodations 164 

High Churchmen 54 

Hindrances to the Use of 

the Psalms 146 

Historic Episcopate 43 

Holy Davs 147 

Holy Table 121 

House of God 120 

How the Stranger may come 89 

Ideal of Christianity 101 

Individual Opinions 49 

Inspiration of Scriptures. . . 50 

Instniments of Music 106 

Kneeling iu Prayer 127 



182 



INDEX. 



PAGE 



Laws, Usages, and Disci- 

pliDe 64 

Laying on of Hands 84 

Laymen Workers 90 

Lay Preachers 94 

Lei^islation 69 

Low Churchmen 54 

Loyalty to the Church 52 

Marriage 70 

Membership in the Church. 42 

Memorial of Chriiit 159 

Ministers, Candidates, etc.. Ill 
Missionary Society, all 

Members 103 

Morality and Religion c8 

Music for the Church 104 

Name of this Church 1 

Naming Churches 122 

" Obey "in Marriage Serv- 
ice 75 

Origin of Modem Religious 
Bodies 40 

Parish and Mission 64 

Parish Records 67 

Parties in the Church 54 

Places of Worship 120 

Plan of Redemption 37 

Poor to be relieved 98 

Popular Errors of Parties. . 55 

Postures in Worship 126, 135 

Primitive Church and this 

Branch 14 

Proportionate Giving 119 

Proposed Book 9, 23 



Protestant Episcopal Title . 8 

Psalms and their Uses 143 

Public Worship t6 

Rector of a Parish 65 

" Regenerate " £4 

Ritualists 54 

Roman Errors o-. 

Roman Schism in England. 15 

Sacred Scriptures 38 

Schools of Thought 5'J 

See Cities 117 

Signers of the Declaration 

of Independence 20 

Singing in Church 10 > 

Spiritual Strength sought.. 162 

Sponsors and their Duties . . 81 

Sunday-schools £4 

Support of Clergymen 119 

Symbolism 123 

Symmetrical Development. 88 

Sympathy with Present Age 45 

Te Deum 60 

Trinitarian 29, 37 

Usages of the Chnrch C4 

Versicles 155 

Vestments 3 ) 

Vestrymen 65, C7 

Washington a Churchman 20 
Words explained ^8 

Young, Religious training 
of the 79 



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LIBRARY 




